


Klaine Snippets, Drabbles, and Missing Moments

by misskaterinab



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-09
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-11-09 11:30:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misskaterinab/pseuds/misskaterinab
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of random stories that don't necessarily fit elsewhere - I may rewrite a Glee scene, write a missing Glee scene, or just make things up with no basis in canon whatsoever. Never know what's going to come out of my twisted little brain!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Facebook Relationship Status

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurt and Blaine announce their relationship by changing their Facebook status.

“Wow,” they breathed in unison after they pulled away from their second, more passionate kiss, a little breathless and a lot excited by what this actually meant for them.

“So…” Kurt began. “Does this mean…?”

“Yes, my dear Kurt, I believe it does.” Blaine reached behind his back and grabbed something that Kurt couldn’t see and dropped to one knee before him.

“Whoa, Blaine!”

Blaine ignored him and took Kurt’s hand in his left hand. “Kurt, will you do me the honor of – “

“Blaine!” Kurt protested.

Blaine pulled his hand out from behind his back and presented the object in it, Kurt’s phone, to him. “ – changing your Facebook status?”

Kurt relaxed instantly, feeling absolutely silly that he thought Blaine on one knee before him was THAT, mere moments after their relationship had begun. “Why yes, kind sir, I do believe I shall,” Kurt agreed with a grin.

Just then, a pack of wild Warblers descended upon the common room that Blaine and Kurt had been occupying, ready to begin that afternoon’s rehearsal. Wes, Thad, and David took their seats at the council table and prepared to start that day’s practice.

Wes grabbed his gavel and struck it on the table. “This meeting and rehearsal of the Warblers will now come to order. Any new business since we were last together, gentlemen?”

Trent looked  like he was fighting to keep still in his seat.  He looked surreptitiously at the phone in his hand and raised his hand.

“The council recognizes Trent Warbler,” said Wes authoritatively.

“I think Kurt and Blaine have something to share with the class,” Trent replied in a sing song voice.

Wes looked up from the notes on the table at Kurt and Blaine, who were quickly trying to pocket their own phones before they could be caught. “Warbler Kurt! Warbler Blaine! You know the rules about cell phone usage during rehearsal unless it can be directly linked to official Warbler business!”

David, curious as to what all the fuss was about, had taken out his own phone while Wes was busy scolding the other boys. “Um, Wes, take a look at Facebook. I’m thinking this does actually have something to do with Warbler business.”

Wes, grumbling because his strict schedule had been derailed, opened the web browser on his cell to Facebook. “This had better be good,” he mumbled.

Scrolling down his wall, he came across two entries that, while only minutes old, had double digit likes and comments.

**Kurt Hummel is in a relationship with Blaine Anderson.**

**_Blaine Anderson is in a relationship with Kurt Hummel._ **

“Oh, well, I see.” Wes pasted a stern look on his face. Kurt and Blaine, noticing this look and recognizing it as Wes’ “you messed with my meeting, now you must pay” look, cringed and cowered in their seats a little. Wes stared at them for a few moments before opening his mouth. All the boys in the room braced themselves for the rant they were sure would follow Wes’ infamous expression.

“I am just going to say one thing,” he began. “It’s about damn time. Now, if you would just do me the favor of resolving all the damn unresolved sexual tension oozing from both of you ALL the time, or at the very least keep it OUT of my rehearsal space, it would be appreciated.”

Blaine, accepting a few well wishes and high fives from the nearby Warblers, had the decency to blush, while Kurt just sank further into his seat, looking mortified. “Yes, Wes,” they said together.

“Now, if there is no more new business?” He looked around the room, but no one so much as twitched. “All right. Now, let’s work on Raise Your Glass for regionals. Our choreography…”

Kurt and Blaine leaned back into their seats, settling in for Wes’ inevitable long lecture on their dance moves. They stole a glance at each other before focusing all their attention on their fearless leader, but not before hooking their pinky fingers together on the seat between them.


	2. You Have to Let Me Tell Blaine!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burt goes with Kurt to tell Blaine about his NYADA finalist letter.

“You have to let me tell Blaine!” Burt Hummel said with excitement and pride.

Kurt raised his eyebrow at his father. “Really, Dad? It’s my news and my boyfriend… it’s kind of strange for you to be telling him this and not me, isn’t it?”

“C’mon, Kurt. Let your dear ol’ dad have some fun for once. I don’t usually get the chance to share really great news these days. For me? Please?”

Burt pulled his baseball cap off his head and placed it over his heart, all the while trying, and failing _miserably_ to replicate the puppy dog face that he had seen Blaine pull on Kurt countless times.

Kurt groaned and covered his face with his hands. “Dad, stop. That look is not flattering for you at all. Blaine gets away with it because I’m in love with him and he’s adorable, but you’re my _dad_. It’s just… wrong.”

Burt laughed. “Okay, okay. Be a party pooper. But at least let me come with you when you go tell him.”

Kurt nodded. He felt like he owed his dad that much. “All right. But keep your mouth shut, okay? Remember – my boyfriend, my news.”

Burt nodded in agreement. “Got it.” He wrapped his arms around his son. “I’m just so proud of you!”

“Dad, I haven’t gotten in yet. I’m just a finalist.”

“There is no _just_ in this equation, Kurt. You’re a finalist, which just tells us what we already know: that you’re an amazing kid. You’re gonna do this, kiddo.”

Kurt snuggled into his father’s strong, loving arms. “Thanks, Dad.”

xXxXxXx

*knock knock* “Can we come in?” Kurt poked his head through Blaine’s bedroom door, finding his boyfriend curled up in his cozy plaid flannel throw on his bed, watching mindless afternoon television.

“ _God_ yes. There is only so much ‘you are NOT the baby’s father’ and stupid people arguing with Judge Judy that one can take before one wants to stick an ice pick through one’s good eye.”

“No honey, we can’t have you doing that. You’ve already been gone long enough – I don’t think I can take it if you’re out of school much longer!”

“So who’s we? Oh hey, Mr. Hummel,” Blaine greeted them as Kurt pushed Blaine’s door open, revealing himself and his father standing behind him. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I thought I’d see why my food bill has gone down this month. We’ve been missing you around the house.” Burt walked to Blaine’s bedside and gave him the one armed handshake “man hug” in greeting.

“Hey, I don’t eat THAT much,” Blaine protested good-naturedly.

“Well, you eat less than Finn, that’s for sure, but you eat more than Kurt, so yeah, we notice your absence,” Burt teased. “But no, really, we do miss you. How’s your eye doing?”

“I have to have surgery on it Friday, and I’m terrified, but I’ll get through it.”

“Make sure you have Kurt let me know if there’s anything we can do for you. I know your parents aren’t around much – you’re more than welcome to recover in our guest room after your surgery if someone won’t be home with you afterward.”

Blaine smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much, Mr. Hummel. My mom took some time off to be around for me, but I really appreciate it.”

“I’m sure my son will probably be glued to your side as much as he’s able as well.”

Kurt, who had settled into the chair next to Blaine’s bed and had been holding his hand for the past several minutes, agreed. “You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

Burt waited impatiently while the two boys shared a loving look. He was thrilled that his son had found someone so perfect for him and loved to witness their little lovey dovey moments (as long as they didn’t get TOO out of hand, of course), but he wanted to get this show on the road.

“So… Kurt? You had something to say to Blaine?”

Blaine frowned, his good eye immediately turning to look at Kurt in confusion. “Oh no, honey,” Kurt rushed to say. “Nothing bad!” He squeezed Blaine’s hand in reassurance and mumbled, “ _Way to go, Dad._ ”

“Sorry, Kurt, Blaine. I just…”

“Go ahead, Dad. You know you want to.”

“Really? Are you sure, Kurt? Like you said before, your boyfriend, your news.”

“I hate to be rude,” Blaine interrupted. “But will someone _please_ tell me what’s going on?”

Kurt nodded at his father.

“Well,” Burt began. “I wanted to be the one to tell you, but then Kurt insisted that he tell you, so I insisted that he at least let me be here when he told you, so here I am and here we are and – “

“DAD!” Kurt said sharply.

“Right!” He took a deep breath and faced Blaine. “Kurt’s a NYADA finalist!”

Blaine’s face broke into a huge ear to ear smile. “REALLY? Sweetheart! That’s so amazing! I knew you could do it!” He pulled Kurt’s hand, which he was still holding, toward him and wrapped his arms around Kurt in a big bear hug. Blaine kissed Kurt briefly on the lips and then squeezed him tightly. “I am SO proud of you!”

“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Kurt whispered, his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck.

Blaine pushed him back and looked right into Kurt’s eyes. “Remember when I said, Don’t give up hope, ever? I may not always be right. Hell, I’m not usually right. But I knew I was right when I said it. The Kurt Hummel I know is a fighter and doesn’t give up, and it paid off.”

“But I’m not in yet.”

“But you will be. I know it,” Blaine said firmly.

“I tried telling him the same thing. Maybe he’ll actually believe it from you,” Burt said. Kurt and Blaine jumped, almost forgetting Burt was there.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Blaine promised.

Burt approached Blaine’s bed again, opting to give Blaine a real hug this time. “I’ve gotta run. I just wanted to see your reaction to Kurt’s news, and I wasn’t disappointed.”

“Thanks for coming by. I needed the cheering up.”

“You come by and see us soon, okay? I know Carole would love to fuss over you for a little while, and I think Finn is worried about you, though I think it’s probably against his own personal ‘guy code’ to admit it.”

Blaine laughed. “I’ll have Kurt drag my sorry behind over there soon. Thanks Mr. Hummel.”

“It’s Burt. You’re like family, and family calls me Burt.”

Blaine grinned. “Okay, Burt. See you soon!”

“Kurt, home by 8, okay?”

“I’ll be there. Bye Dad!”

Burt showed himself out the door and shut it behind him. Kurt took the opportunity to kick off his shoes and scramble up onto the bed beside Blaine, curling up into his side under the soft blanket.

“I thought he’d _never_ leave,” Kurt said. “I’ve been waiting all day for this!”

“Me too,” Blaine confided. “But I’m so glad you brought him. You really have the best dad, you know that?”

Kurt smiled softly. “Yeah, I do.”


	3. Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaine's first anniversary - 'cause Glee SUCKS and didn't celebrate it with them on the show :(

A student that Kurt recognized as being a messenger from the front office entered Kurt’s fifth period French class and handed a note to the teacher. She opened it and scanned its contents, and with a nod of dismissal to the student who had delivered it, she turned to face the class.

“Monsieur Hummel, you are wanted in the office. Please pack up your belongings and report there immediately.”

Panicking a little as he remembered exactly how NOT well his past few office visits had gone, he shoved his things haphazardly into his messenger bag and hurriedly left the classroom. He hadn’t gotten far when he was tugged into a cross hallway by the sleeves of his jacket.

“Hey!” he said indignantly when he saw who had waylaid him. “You know better than to treat a Marc Jacobs with such unnecessary roughness!”

“I’m sorry, white boy, but your jacket had to take one for the team today,” Mercedes explained. “The note from the office was a ruse – the messenger was paid off by a third party to deliver the note to your class.”

“But who – “

“Here.” Mercedes said. “I wasn’t just here to tell you the note was a fake. I have in my hands a real one for you. I’ll see you later, sweetie.” She gave Kurt a peck on the cheek and left.

Kurt opened the note carefully and found in familiar handwriting: _Meet me at the bottom of the outside stairwell._ He smiled and trotted off to do as the note said.

Kurt reached the bottom of the stairwell and found… absolutely nothing. He looked around, but it was totally deserted. Wondering if the whole thing was a trick to get him alone so he could be slushied (the slushies were fewer and farther between with Karofsky at a new school, but they did still happen), he started to worry and shuffle around anxiously. Just as he was about to leave to go somewhere safer and forget about the note, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Excuse me!”

Kurt turned and faced the voice behind him.

“Can I ask you a question? I’m new here.”

Kurt’s face slowly widened into a huge smile as he found his boyfriend standing a couple of steps above him, a touch breathless and with hearts in his eyes.

Kurt reached out his hand. “I’m Kurt.”

Blaine grabbed his hand and held it between both of his own. “Blaine.”

They stood like that for a few moments, simply staring into each other’s eyes. Finally Blaine broke the silence.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“ _Hi_ ,” said Kurt in return, his response just barely audible.

With a glance over his shoulder to be sure they were still alone, Kurt tore his hand away from Blaine and flung both his arms around Blaine’s shoulders to pull him close into a tight hug.

“Happy Anniversary, Blaine.”

“Happy Anniversary, Kurt.”

“I can’t believe it’s already been a whole year,” Kurt said in wonder.

“Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes!” Blaine said facetiously, and Kurt gently shoved him with a grin on his face. “Best year of my life, though, hands down.”

“Me too,” agreed Kurt. “There’ve been some rough times, especially recently.” Blaine nodded as they both remembered Sebastian’s attempts to come between them, the tainted slushy incident, Karofsky’s suicide attempt, and Quinn’s accident. “But everyone’s still around, and you and I are still together and we’re stronger for it.”

“Amen to that,” Blaine said. “Hey, come with me to the auditorium? This may not be Dalton and I may not have my Warblers behind me to back me up, but I would really like to sing for you.”

“Okay,” Kurt agreed quickly. “I love it when you sing for me.”

Blaine held out his hand. “Come on, I know a shortcut,” he said, and he started speed walking the two of them to the auditorium.

Kurt burst out into laughter. “That route you took me on to the common room at Dalton was no shortcut, Blaine Anderson, and you know it!”

“I can’t help it if I just wanted to be seen holding hands with a cute boy!”

“Yeah, well you WEREN’T seen holding hands with a cute boy, because the hall was deserted since you were so late and kept the Warblers waiting.”

“Details, schmetails. And besides, whose fault was it that I was late? I seem to remember a certain set of stunning blue-green eyes just begging me to stay.”

Kurt blushed. “Touché.”

Blaine led Kurt through the backstage doors of the auditorium and brought him over to the piano. He shut the lid of the piano and helped Kurt scramble up to sit on top of it. “Normally, I’d have you sit next to me, but not only is it easier to watch you when you’re sitting in front of me rather than next to me, but I also know I’ll never get through the song if you’re in kissing range.”

“What’s so wrong with that?” Kurt asked suggestively.

“Nothing, normally, but I really want to sing you this song.” Blaine carefully sat himself down on the bench and began playing random chords while he spoke. “I think you’ll recognize this song, even though I’ve slowed it down some to make it prettier and more romantic.”

_You think I’m pretty without any makeup on  
You think I’m funny when I tell the punch line wrong  
I know you get me, so I let my walls come down  
Down_

Kurt’s breath hitched when he recognized that Blaine was playing _that_ song… _their_ song. He watched as his boyfriend threw his entire heart and soul into his musical gift. Blaine slid farther and farther into his performance until he seemed to lose all sense of time and space and let the song overtake him.

Kurt took the opportunity in the few moments left before the song was done to carefully hop off the piano and sit next to Blaine on the piano bench. As soon as the last note was sung, Kurt gently grasped Blaine’s chin and drew his face toward him for a long passionate kiss. After they broke the kiss, the continued to sit there a few moments longer, arms wrapped around each other with foreheads and noses touching, just smiling.

“That was amazing. _You’re_ amazing,” Kurt gushed.

“ _You_ take my breath away. It was rough making the transition from Dalton to McKinley and leaving my… excuse me, OUR… Warblers behind, but it was so worth it. I am so proud to be here with you.”

“I hope so.” Kurt’s voice broke, just as Blaine’s had when he had said the same words to Kurt. “I want you to be. And I’m proud of you, too. You SHINE here, Blaine. You shined with the Warblers, too, but you shined as part of a group. Here you shine as Blaine Anderson, triple threat.”

Kurt caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and mouthed the words “thank you” to the person causing the movement, and then wiggled out of Blaine’s tight hold to bounce off stage.

He came back holding two cups and a small bag from the Lima Bean, courtesy of Rachel.

“One grande nonfat mocha for myself, a medium drip for you, Billy Crystal, and though this isn’t the time of year for cupid cookies, they did have this fabulous shamrock cookie for us to split.”

“You know my coffee order.”

Kurt scoffed. “Of _course_ I do, silly.”

They sipped in silence, each one thinking back on the past year.

Blaine grinned. “It’s all been just like _When Harry Met Sally._ ”

“Didn’t they get together in the end?”

“Yeah,” Blaine sighed happily, looking at Kurt with all the love in his heart reflected in his eyes. “They did.”


	4. It's all about YOU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a reaction fic after 3x17 Dance With Somebody. Perhaps what might've been going on inside Blaine's head during that episode.

YOU wanted YOUR senior year to be magical.

YOU wanted me to transfer to McKinley, a school that has been known for homophobia and is the home of YOUR bullies. A school that is far inferior to Dalton in academics, a move that could look bad on my transcripts.

I left all my friends and the Warblers behind for YOU.

I did my best to get in good with YOUR friends and have been shunned by YOUR brother.

I very nearly said no to the part in the musical because of YOU. It was because of YOU that I auditioned for lesser roles.

I was there for YOU when you didn’t get Tony.

I was there for YOU when you didn’t get the class presidency.

I was there for YOU when you were accused of cheating.

And YOU disrespect me by flirting with another man through texts? I don’t care what you think about it, Kurt. Anything that either partner in a relationship would be hurt by is not okay. It’s not right.

Okay, fine. Maybe I am pulling away from you lately. And I’m sorry. But everything YOU talk about lately is related to New York or NYADA. What song YOU are going to sing. What YOU are going to wear. What YOU are going to do when YOU get to New York.

Without me.

It sounds like you can’t WAIT to drop Ohio like a bad habit. But what about me, Kurt? I’m part of Ohio, too. And I will be for the next year. How do you think this makes me feel?

In a few months, you’re going to be gone. With this brand-new life, these brand-new friends, brand-new everything, and I’m going to be right here. By myself.

But I’m just… trying to practice what life is going to be like without you. You are the love of my life, Kurt. And I’m pissed off that I have to learn, for the next year, what being alone is going to be like.

I have done everything I know how to show you that I am crazy about you, Kurt. But it’s like you don’t even notice. Once you get your way, you move onto the next thing that’s all about you. And stupidly, I jump through hoops to do that for YOU. To make YOU happy. With nothing in return.

When is it my turn, Kurt?


	5. Promasaurus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what I imagine may have been going on in Blaine’s head during prom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue taken from canon. Except where I changed it. Italics are Blaine’s inner thoughts. Spoilers for the 3x19 so if you haven’t watched, back away NOW.

 

“No, sorry Blaine. I said no hair gel, remember? I can totally smell it,” said Brittany as she refused Blaine admittance to the prom.

Kurt turned to him, looking sympathetic. “You can do this,” he said encouragingly.

Blaine grudgingly turned and left the gym, heading toward the bathroom. _Why don’t they believe me?_ he asked himself. _I keep telling them this is a mistake. I look like Medusa. Dye my hair pink and I look like a giant Brillo pad. I’m going to be the laughingstock of the prom._

He stopped at his locker to pick up his emergency toiletries kit, which included shampoo and conditioner. The slushies at McKinley had slowed way down, and Blaine had yet to be subjected to one on school grounds, but Kurt insisted he stay prepared. “They’re just waiting to catch us with our guard down, Blaine,” Kurt said, and Blaine didn’t find it to be an argument worth pursuing.  After closing his locker, he went to the second closest boys bathroom (he didn’t want to be in the nearest as it was the one that would be used by the prom-goers) and locked himself in to work on his hair.

He pulled off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his shirt so he wouldn’t get them wet and sighed heavily. Then he ducked his head under the faucet to wet his hair. Once the gel was no longer as set and hard as it was when it was dry, he poured a large amount of shampoo in his hair and set to work scrubbing the excessive product from his curls.

He rubbed his scalp for a long time, making sure every lock was free from the gel. Once he rinsed out the shampoo, he worked a dollop of conditioner through his hair. _Don’t know why I’m bothering. Conditioner doesn’t do a darn thing._ He let it sit for the requisite three minutes and proceeded to wash that away as well.

Blaine grabbed his fluffy towel and rubbed the moisture from his hair. Once it was as dry as it was going to get without outside assistance, he grabbed his brush and hand mirror from his bag and went to sit underneath the hand dryer. For longer than was likely necessary, he sat there, desperately brushing his wild curls, praying for them to do something. Anything. But it was no use. The drier his hair got, the fluffier it got.

His hair dry, Blaine got up and went to one of the larger mirrors above the sink. He gasped; the damage was worse than he thought. It looked as though someone blew up his hair with a bicycle pump. Tears came to his eyes. _This is **awful.** I can’t go out there like THIS. I’ll be humiliated._ He used the brush to try a few hair tricks that Kurt had taught him, but he could never seem to get them right, and he just made a bigger mess.

_I should go. I can’t do this. I’m sorry, Kurt…_

Kurt. He couldn’t bail on Kurt. If he left, Kurt would think he abandoned him, and he couldn’t have that. He would have to put on his big boy briefs and suck it up and deal.  

Before he could psych himself out of it, he hurriedly packed his things away and shrugged his jacket back on. His eyes lingered briefly over the bottle of gel in there and wondered what would happen if he used just a tiny amount in his hair. Just enough to calm down the worst of the frizzies. Maybe Brittany would catch him again and turn him away again and he could use it as an excuse to just give up leave. Maybe…

 _No,_ he told himself. _Just do it._

Blaine tossed his gear back in his locker and walked back to the gym. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The couple nearest the door looked up to see who was on their way in. The girl grimaced at the sight of him. He passed Tina and Mike, who were shooting him looks of pity. The next couple looked as if they were embarrassed for him. He felt his heart sink deeper and deeper with every step he took.

Finally, after what was just moments but seemed like hours, he reached Kurt. He hoped for a more positive reaction from his boyfriend, but Kurt looked more in shock than anything.

He looked at Kurt with hopeful anticipation, praying he had something nice to say.

“Oh my dear god,” he said.

_He hates it. My boyfriend hates my hair. This is a disaster. I need to go._

“Don’t make fun of the new kid with the bad ‘fro. It’s hair bullying.” Brittany came up behind them, admonishing Kurt.

Kurt set her straight. “That’s not a new kid, that’s Blaine without hair gel.”

Blaine’s face fell. “Is it really that bad?” _Ugh, stupid question, Captain Obvious. YES it’s that bad._

“Yeah, you’re Mr. Broccoli Head,” said Brittany.

_What? Didn’t she just spout off some bullshit about hair bullying and now she’s calling me names? Double standards, much, Madame Senior Class President?_

Kurt interrupted her. “It’s not that bad.”

“Yeah it is, it’s really bad,” Brittany insisted, sending Blaine’s mood down into the crapper. He nervously fussed with his hair, a heartbroken look on his face.

Brittany turned to address Blaine. “You made your point. I abused my power as president. But, to help save the prom, and to keep people from turning to stone when they look at you, I’ll give you special permission to wear hair gel. Immediately.”

_Oh gee, thanks, Brittany. How generous of you. You’re a real friend._

“I’ll be right back,” said Blaine, intending to bail and get his hands on his bottle of hair gel, which had essentially become his security blanket over the past year.

Kurt ran after him. “Don’t you _dare_. I love finally getting to see the real you. The man without the product.  And I want everyone here to know just how proud I am of my brave, handsome bushy-haired boyfriend.”

Blaine’s heart melted. “Really?” he asked.

Kurt grinned. “Really.”

“You’re not just saying that?” Blaine’s voice betrayed his need for reassurance.

“Not at all,” Kurt said, running his fingers through the poof of curls on Blaine’s head. He was surprised; Blaine’s hair was softer than he thought it would be. He was delighted to discover that it was lush and silky.

“Now that we’ve got the texture under control, we’re just going to have to find a product that will help with the, um, _volume_ , without giving you helmet head.” Kurt paused for a moment, clearly mulling something over in his head. “You wanna get out of here?” he asked in a low voice.

Blaine gestured at his head. “Uh, yeah! That’s kind of what I’ve been trying to do for the past few minutes.”

“Good,” Kurt said, dragging Blaine to the door. “I’ve been dying to run my fingers through your hair. To see what happens when I get a good grip on it and pull,” he purred in Blaine’s ear. Kurt grabbed a curl and twirled it around one of his fingers, causing Blaine to gulp loudly.

Blaine tightened his grip on Kurt’s hand and took the lead, tugging Kurt through the door.

“Let’s go.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by various gifs from Promasaurus, including  
> http://fuckyeahgleelove.tumblr.com/post/22702711975 and  
> http://darren-colfer.tumblr.com/post/22705143308
> 
> And did anyone else want to smack Brittany for her double standards?


	6. Safe Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaine FINALLY get to show each other some affection at school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always understood why Klaine wouldn't want to show each other affection in the halls at McKinley. It makes me sad, but I totally get it. However, it never made sense to me why they couldn't cozy up a bit together in the choir room. Klaine is accepted there, so they SHOULD feel safe, right? This little ditty is about them finally finding a safe haven at school.

The Glee Club Christmas tree was beautiful. Fully decked out to the tune of All I Want For Christmas is You, is was a vision in golds and reds. They had danced and sung and spun their way around the tree while decorating it, but while Finn and Rachel danced together, Blaine was way. over. there.

At the end of the song, Rachel twirled her way via a long strand of garland into Finn’s arms, and underneath a piece of mistletoe that Mercedes stood on a ladder to hold over them (after all, Finn was REALLY tall), they shared a slow, sweet kiss.

Kurt had had enough. “Ugh, they’re kissing. Again.”

“So what’s the problem?” Tina asked innocently. “Mike and I kiss all the time.”

“You guys KNOW the reason,” Kurt hissed.

“It’s not that gay thing again, is it?”

“Of course it’s the ‘gay thing’ again,” Kurt said, gesturing violently with air quotes. “It’s not FAIR. Everywhere I look, I pass people making out in the halls. STRAIGHT people. And no one bats an eye. Yet Blaine and I can barely pass each other in the halls without fear of being slushied.”

“Well, you’re not in the hall right now,” Tina pointed out.

“How does THAT have anything to do with it?... Oh.” The lightbulb inside Kurt’s head slowly began to flicker  on. “OH! But…um. What about everyone else? There’s a lot of people in here.”

Mercedes, overhearing their conversation, jumped in. “It’s just us, Kurt. We’re all your friends. And as far as I know, not one single one of us has a problem with you being gay, or with Blaine being gay, or with you two being together. You’re safe here with us in the choir room.

“We love you, Kurt, and we just want to see you happy. And if being able to show Blaine you love him here at school would make you happy, then you feel free to get allll up on that.” She cast a glance across the room where Blaine, in all his tight-pantsed, velvet smoking jacketed glory, had donned a zebra print and hot pink Santa hat and was being silly with a piece of shiny gold garland. “I sure would. Look at him, he’s precious and adorable and smoking hot all at once.”

Kurt followed Mercedes’ gaze. “He really is, isn’t he?” Making up his mind, Kurt walked determinedly across the room to where Blaine was standing. He grabbed the end of Blaine’s garland, and in a similar move to Rachel’s earlier, he pulled Blaine into his arms.

“Hey!” Blaine said with a grin. “What’s all this?”

Magically, a piece of mistletoe appeared over their heads. _Thanks, ‘Cedes,_ Kurt thought. Kurt looked up and pointedly stared at the mistletoe, causing Blaine to look up as well.

“So, mistletoe…” Blaine stated the obvious.

“Yep,” Kurt agreed.

“Do we, uh, plan on… _doing_ anything about that?” Blaine asked hopefully.

“Of course.” Kurt leaned over and quickly gave Blaine a little peck on the lips. Around him, he could hear little groans of protest from Mercedes and Tina.

“Ugh, REALLY Kurt? All that whining for this?” Mercedes said.

But before Mercedes could finish her thought, an evil grin swept its way across Kurt’s face and he grabbed Blaine and swung him into a deep dip, planting an almost filthy kiss on Blaine’s lips. Kurt held him there, nearing full makeout mode, until Kurt was forced to end it due to balance issues, or lack thereof. One moment more and they probably would’ve both crashed to the floor.

Kurt pulled Blaine to a standing position, and both stood staring at each other, panting slightly. Kurt was developing a growing interest down below, and to avoid embarrassment, he had to tear his gaze away from the slightly debauched looking Blaine in front of him and visualize his own personal “mailman.”

After a moment of surprised silence, Puck yelled, “GET YOU SOME, HUMMEL!”

Kurt realized then that every single person in the room had stopped what they were doing and watched them. He and Blaine were both turning similar shades of red.

Blaine grinned at Kurt. “So, that happened.”

Kurt nodded. “It sure did.”

“Why don’t we do that more often?”

“I don’t know. I guess it didn’t occur to me that we’d be okay in the choir room.”

“Well, let’s start making up for lost time, shall we?” Blaine said, kissing Kurt gently before leading him to their usual chairs to sit so Mr. Schue could call the rehearsal to order.

Mercedes permanently hung the mistletoe above the doorway for the duration of the Christmas season. Every time Kurt and Blaine passed through it, they felt free to show each other varying levels of affection. It didn’t always include a kiss; after all, they didn’t want to be as nauseating as Finn and Rachel, who didn’t need any excuse to put their lips on one another. But it felt amazing to them to be close to each other and still be accepted by their friends.

Mercedes conveniently “forgot” to remove the mistletoe from the doorway when the Glee club gathered to take down the holiday decorations after Christmas break. Sam noticed it still hanging there and was just about to drag the stepladder over to it to take it down, but Mercedes signaled “no” to him and jerked her head in the direction of the piano, where Blaine and Kurt were standing with their arms around each other, gazing into each other’s eyes. Sam nodded, returning the ladder to its place and leaving the mistletoe where it was.

Nothing wrong with a little mistletoe year ‘round, right?


	7. You Can Make Anything Out of Legos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaine gets creative with Legos.

“Look Kurt, LEGOS!” Blaine exclaimed as he ran toward a brightly colored bucket.

Kurt and Blaine were spending their Saturday morning walking around a neighborhood yard sale; it was mostly just for fun as their funds were rather limited, but they weren’t opposed to a fabulous bargain on something for their home together. Kurt wasn’t convinced Legos were the thing to spend their money on, however.

“Legos, Blaine?”

“Oh come on, Kurt, you can’t tell me you didn’t spend a huge part of your childhood playing with Legos. Boy or girl, gay or straight, the whole world comes together with Legos!” Blaine said dramatically, bold hand gestures and all.

“Well, I did for awhile, but by the time I would’ve started getting into the big kid Lego sets, my mom started getting sick and we didn’t have any money for them anymore,” Kurt said softly.

Blaine’s face dropped. “Aww Kurt, honey, I’m sorry,” he said, and he gave Kurt a hug around the shoulders. After waiting for what he thought was an appropriate amount of time, he continued. “But there’s no time like the present! Please, Kurt?” Blaine looked pleadingly at Kurt, his eyes almost as large as Margaret Thatcher Dog’s.

“Twenty dollars is quite a bit for a toy,” Kurt hesitated.

Blaine slipped into salesman mode. “It’s a really good deal, Kurt. This bucket is HUGE. This many Legos would cost at least a hundred bucks in the store.”

“Well, okay,” Kurt agreed, a sucker for a great bargain. And they DID look fun… “But I’m going to see if I can haggle a bit.”

Kurt approached the man running the sale. In Kurt’s experience, the men tended to be easier to bargain with than women; most men were oblivious to what things cost and were not determined to try to make their money back on everything.

“Would you go down to $15 on the bucket of Legos?” Kurt asked.

The man hesitated. “I’m already letting them go for a steal. I’m surprised they’re still here, really. But then, not too many people have stopped here today.”

Kurt wasn’t surprised. Quite honestly, the bucket of Legos looked out of place here; all the other items for sale were dirty or rusty or long out of date.

“Yeah, I’ll take fifteen. I wanted to close up soon anyway.” Kurt pulled a ten and a five out of his wallet and handed them to the man.

“He special or something?” the man asked, watching Blaine, who had managed to fashion two mini daggers out of Legos in the short amount of time Kurt was making his offer and was now sword-fighting himself.

Kurt grinned. “No, not in the way you’re thinking. He’s just developed Peter Pan syndrome – he doesn’t want to grow up. Plus, he’s studying to be an elementary school teacher; he likes being on the kids’ wavelength.”

The man nodded, and Kurt said his thank yous and went to rejoin Blaine. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s haul this big ol’ bucket home.” Kurt grabbed one end and Blaine grabbed the other, and together they carried it home between them.

The moment they got back to their apartment, Blaine overturned the entire bucket on the wooden floor in their living room.

“Blaine!” Kurt protested. He had hoped to attack the Legos with a can of Lysol spray before Blaine started playing with them again, but now he just hoped that an errant Lego wouldn’t attack his feet later on.

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head, Kurt. I’ll clean them up.”

“You better, or I’m going to be cleaning them up myself. With the vacuum.”

Blaine patted a space on the floor next to him. “Sit. Come immerse yourself in the joy that is building with Legos.”

Kurt hesitated only briefly before plopping himself down next to Blaine. He grabbed a green base plate and a handful of the colorful bricks and set to work making his dream house.

Blaine made a handful of small objects (a car, a Star Wars light saber, a dog, a robot) before a naughty look crossed his face and he set to work. Had Kurt been paying attention, he would’ve seen the evil glint in Blaine’s eyes and gotten suspicious, but he was engrossed in his own work. Even in a Lego house, the large walk-in closet must not be neglected.

They both worked busily for about ten minutes before Blaine tapped Kurt on the shoulder, snapping Kurt out of his building zone.

“Hey Kurt, look!” Blaine said proudly. Blaine held in his hand a larger-than-life sized model of…

 

A penis. Standing erect and tall. Complete with balls.

“Oh my GOD! Blaine!!” Kurt screeched, slightly horrified. He scrambled up from his seat on the floor, trying to get away from it as if it would bite him or something.

Blaine laughed uncontrollably at Kurt’s reaction. Tears streamed down from his eyes and he was making almost no sound. “But Kurt!” he choked out. “Isn’t it LIFELIKE?”

Kurt turned his nose up. “Yes, Blaine. A multi-colored penis with square corners and sharp edges. SO lifelike.”

Blaine began to tease Kurt by waving the Lego dick through the air as if it was thrusting into some unknown orifice.

Kurt shook his head and said sarcastically, “Very funny, you big pervert. I’m going to go fix lunch. If you can grow up by the time I’m done, maybe I’ll even let you have some of it.”

Blaine cheered internally, his plans for making Kurt leave the room for an extended period of time successful. He quickly set aside the offending phallic object and went to work.

**xXxXxXx**

Kurt put the finishing touches on the meal he had slaved over. Chicken Parmesan was a lot of work for lunch, and he had even made fresh breadsticks and tossed a salad to go with it, but he had this strange, unexplainable hunch that today was a good day for a special meal.

He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel. Satisfied that everything was plated beautifully and ready to be enjoyed, he went back to the living room to call Blaine to the table.

He entered the living room to find… no Blaine.

“Blaine? Where are you?” There weren’t many places he could go. Their home was comfortable, but small.

Kurt turned around to go looking for Blaine when he kicked something that skittered across the wooden floor. Kurt sighed; it was starting already.

“Blaine, I thought you said you were going to clean these up?” he called out in a random direction, not sure where Blaine could be.

Kurt bent over to pick up the offending Legos and stopped dead. Painstaking laid out in front of him in Legos were the words _**Kurt, Will You Marry Me?**_   He gasped, his hand going straight to his chest. He whipped his head around, frantically looking for Blaine, only to find him right behind him.

Kneeling on the floor, wearing his much loved tuxedo shirt, was Blaine. He was holding in his hands a hollowed out Lego heart with a golden band laying inside.

“You know I’m not very good at speeches, or at romance. I’m usually much better at expressing myself through song. Truth is, though, I didn’t even have a song prepared. This was incredibly spur of the moment, but for some reason, it just felt like the right time to do this. So, Kurt Hummel, will you marry me?”

“You’re just fine at romance, Blaine. Yes, I will marry you.” Kurt allowed Blaine to slide the gold band over his ring finger and pull him into a long, borderline steamy kiss.

“You make me so happy, Kurt,” Blaine said softly, staring into Kurt’s eyes.  Then he broke away and flashed Kurt a huge mischievous grin. “So, tell me, Kurt – what made you decide to marry me? Was it my charisma and charm, or…” He reached behind him. “Was it my Amazing Technicolor Dream-Penis?” he said, shoving the Lego creation underneath Kurt’s nose with a flourish.

Kurt facepalmed. _Oh god, I’m marrying an IDIOT,_ he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this photo and the giant pile of Lego projects my son is always working on. Something almost always looks phallic. LOL
> 
>   
> 


	8. Double Standards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though I loved both Props and Nationals as a whole, I was annoyed with the treatment of Klaine. Everyone, even Brittana, got to show affection with their significant others in front of the student body EXCEPT Klaine. So I rewrote it.

Kurt and Puck opened the doors of the school and held them so the rest of the Glee club could file in after them. Their massive trophy, which was on Artie’s lap, snagged something on the ceiling; it was a letter banner that spelled out the word CONGRADULATIONS.  They continued through the side hall, making their way into the main hall. It was silent, which was odd – they had arrived during what should have been passing time between classes, which should have meant a cacophony of chatter and locker doors slamming.

They were met with a giant sign that read Congratulations New Directions and the hallway lined with students. Silent students. Two hockey players, one of them being Rick the Stick, walked up to the group, slushie cups in hand. By then, everyone in Glee had been conditioned to duck or brace themselves against the cold bitchslap of ice that they had sadly become accustomed to. To their surprise, the  Big Quench cups had been loaded with confetti instead.

At first they stood in shock, but as they came to the realization that the student body of McKinley was there to celebrate them and not to torture them, they began to smile, delighted with the well deserved attention. The New Directions joined in the celebration, interacting with themselves and with the other students. They continued down the hall to the choir room and were met with more students tossing more slushie cups full of confetti – it was like a parade.

And then the kissing began. Tina leaned over and gave Mike a sweet kiss. Rory was cornered and double team kissed by two girls; he was LOVING the attention. Kurt was grabbed and hugged by a hockey player, and Quinn blew a kiss to nobody in particular. Becky gave her Cheerios co-captain Santana a double thumbs up, which Santana returned with a huge grin. Then Santana dipped Brittany and gave her a long smooch as the confetti swirled around them.  Not to be outdone, Finn dipped Rachel lower and kissed her longer than anyone else. Both Santana and Brittany kissed Artie on the cheeks. And no one, NO ONE, escaped the non-alcoholic champagne shower.

In the middle of the confetti and bubbly mess, Blaine smiled lovingly at Kurt from across the hall. Taking that as a big hint, Kurt set down the bottle he was using to spray Puck with and crossed the hall to Blaine, wrapping his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and backing him up into the lockers behind him. They had always been so careful to tiptoe around the homophobia rampant within McKinley High, but the mood was so happy and celebratory, and Kurt and Blaine had been together throughout the whole school year without any major incidents stemming from their sexuality that they didn’t think it would be a big deal, just once.

You know that sound a record makes when you drag the needle across it in order to stop the music? Yeah, like that. The moment Kurt’s lips made contact with Blaine’s, it was like the whole WORLD stopped. A few people gasped, but for the most part, the hall fell deadly silent and every eye was on them. Kurt pulled away from Blaine, who began to tremble slightly; no doubt he was imagining their affection to lead to another Sadie Hawkins incident. But Kurt? Kurt. Was. PISSED.

“Really? You have GOT to be fucking kidding me!” Kurt yelled. “The double standard around here is DISGUSTING! In between classes this hallways is a veritable orgy on a good day! You straight people kiss all the time! Hell, Finn and Rachel’s lips are practically surgically attached to each other’s! Santana – you said once that all you wanted to do was be able to kiss your girlfriend in the hall. Well check it out – that’s okay now! Good for you guys. But look at Blaine and me! We’re still the damn sideshow attraction here! What makes us so different from Santana and Brittany, huh? THEY’RE not straight, just like we’re not straight! Yet they’re okay and we’re not. WHY?”

Kurt stopped a moment to catch his breath. Not one person so much as twitched in that hallway – people were frozen in place and in some cases holding their breath, as if they were scared that breathing would set Kurt off again.

“You know what? SCREW what you people think. I’m graduating NEXT WEEK and I only have a few days left to be with MY boyfriend before I graduate and he’s stuck here. I’ll be damned if I let you assholes color my last few days of high school EVER. I’m going to spend it showing MY boyfriend that I love him and that he’s the love of my frickin’ LIFE and that even though I’m leaving everything’s going to be okay. And NO ONE IS GOING TO STOP ME. Isn’t that right?” He swept his gaze over every single person in that hallway, daring them to say different. But no one said a word. Not even Rick the Stick, who had been a jerk to the entire Glee club and not just him, had anything to say. He minutely nodded his head in response to Kurt’s question.

“I thought not.” He turned to Blaine, whose momentary fright and worry had changed to awe in the middle of Kurt’s rant. Kurt kissed him smack on the lips and grabbed his hand. “Come on, Blaine. Let’s get out of here.”

Just as they were about to leave, someone started to clap their hands. Kurt whipped his head around to see where it was coming from and saw Puck standing tall and looking proud. “You tell ‘em, Hummel!” One by one, Artie, Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, Sugar, and the rest of the New Directions joined Puck in their show of support. Even Finn and Rachel, who had initially been offended by Kurt’s remark about them, joined in.

A few lone students in the halls clapped for Kurt as well, but most of them were afraid to do so or indifferent. High school politics were still in effect.

When they reached the doorway, Blaine stopped Kurt, wrapping his arms around Kurt’s waist and pulling him close. “You are super hot when you’re raging,” he whispered in Kurt’s ear.

“Ugh,” Kurt grunted softly. “You are SO getting laid tonight.”

“Why tonight? Why not now?” Blaine asked suggestively, raising a pointy eyebrow.

With a naughty smirk, Kurt dragged Blaine out of the school and to the parking lot. The last thing that anyone saw of Kurt and Blaine that day was the Navigator’s taillights and the tire tracks it left behind.

 


	9. That Ain't Charlotte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those with arachnophobia may choose to proceed with caution. Just sayin'.

“Kurt,” Blaine whispered.

Kurt had fallen asleep on the sofa in their apartment watching some cooking show; Blaine wasn’t sure what it was, but from the looks of it, he was sure he’d probably fall asleep too. He had just been in the room fifteen minutes earlier gently maneuvering Kurt into a more comfortable position and draping the hand-knit throw over him, but Blaine was back, frantically trying to wake Kurt.

Unable to rouse him by just calling his name, Blaine grabbed Kurt’s shoulder, gently shaking as he called more urgently, “Kurt! Wake up!”

Kurt sat straight up, looking sleepy and confused. “I’m up, I’m up! Is it time to go to work? What?” He grabbed his cell phone which was charging on the coffee table next to him. “Blaine, it’s only 7:35. We haven’t even had dinner yet. What’s wrong?”

“S-s-sp-“

“Honey, calm down. Take a deep breath, and then tell me.”

“Spider. Spider in the bathroom,” he spat out. “BIG spider.”

Kurt looked at Blaine, who looked terrified. Kurt knew that Blaine had a spider phobia, and he could understand that, but it’s not as if they grew spiders all that big in Ohio. Now Australia… he had seen a picture of a Huntsman spider the size of a dessert plate hanging from the curtain rod in someone’s HOUSE and… yeah. Kurt shuddered. _Okay, I think that would definitely be enough to make even ME arachnophobic,_ he thought.

“Oh Blaine, is it REALLY that bad?” Kurt asked.

“It was HUGE, Kurt. I went in the bathroom to pee and it scared me so bad I almost peed on the wall.”

Kurt wrinkled his nose. “You DID clean up after yourself, right?”

Blaine huffed, getting frustrated that his boyfriend was not taking this seriously. “Kurt, I will be HAPPY to scrub the whole bathroom top to bottom with a TOOTHBRUSH if you will just go in there and eradicate that… that THING so I can finish taking a leak!” he said, losing patience.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Kurt conceded. He loved teasing Blaine, but he knew when to quit. He got up from the couch and went to grab his shoes. An OLD pair of shoes, of course, because he wasn’t about to sacrifice anything GOOD to spider guts, but he had an impossibly scuffed pair of Docs that weren’t good for much more than doing chores in that will do the job nicely.

Armed with his shoes and a paper towel for spider disposal, he flashed a smirky grin at Blaine and went into the bathroom. He looked around but couldn’t see a single trace of arachnid anywhere.

“Blaine, where did you see this spider?” he called.

“It was on the wall right in front of the toilet when I was in there!” Blaine yelled back. The spider had obviously moved by then. Sighing, he began moving things, hoping to shake the spider out of its hiding place. It wasn’t behind the soap dispenser or the spare toilet paper roll tower or under the rug. However, when he moved the trash can, he got a shock.

“HOLY SHIT!” he yelled, practically jumping on the toilet. Behind the trash can hid the largest spider Kurt had ever seen that wasn’t in pictures or the zoo. And it was BOOKING it – Kurt swore it was trying to break a land speed record.

“I TOLD YOU!!!” Kurt heard Blaine call from the safety of the living room.

Kurt had originally intended to just hold a shoe in his hand and squash it that way, but he didn’t want to bend over that close to Aragog, as he had nicknamed the massive spider. He quickly slid on his shoes and gave chase, managing to catch up with the pest before it could escape again. Kurt did NOT want that thing loose in his home. Once Kurt was aware of a bug or spider’s existence, it was no longer allowed to live in the same living space as him.

Just as the spider was about to skitter out of reach under the vanity, Kurt managed to get a shoe in edgewise, and the giant creepy-crawly met its demise.

“Oh eew,” Kurt said as he examined the floor and the bottom of his shoe. Using the paper towels he had brought in for the aftermath, he cleaned up and headed back to where Blaine was.

He entered the room silently but with his arms above his head in victory.

Blaine grinned. “My hero!” he said dramatically. He went to hug Kurt, but Kurt stopped him.

“Not so fast, Mister,” he said. Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, Kurt removed an object and placed it into Blaine’s hand.

Scowling at the toothbrush Kurt had presented him with, Blaine stomped into the bathroom, muttering, “Fucking spiders,” the whole way.

 


	10. Kurt Tells Blaine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How I imagine Kurt breaking the news of his NYADA rejection to Blaine went.

“Dude, there you are,” Finn called, jogging into the auditorium where Blaine had been tinkering around on the piano. “I was hoping you hadn’t left yet.”

“No, I was just waiting for Kurt. He said he had something to do with you and Rachel this afternoon, and that we’d head out afterward. I take it you guys are done?”

Blaine only then took a moment to really study Finn’s face. It was filled with disappointment, uncertainty, and concern.

“Finn, what happened?”

“I think I better let you talk to Kurt about that. He’s in the choir room.”

“Thanks, Finn.” Blaine leaned over to grab his messenger bag, which had fallen beneath the piano bench.

“Wait!” Finn said. Blaine stopped and turned to face Finn. “I brought this. It might help.”

“What is it?”

“It’s warm milk. Puck helped me break into the cafeteria to make it. Kurt always brings it to me whenever he wants to talk.”

Blaine stared at the paper cups that Finn held out to him. “You think it’s that bad?”

“It ain’t good. He needs you, man.”

Blaine nodded solemnly and took the milk Finn offered him. “You don’t look good either – are YOU okay?”

“I will be. I’ll see you later,” Finn said, leaving the auditorium. Blaine followed quickly, anxious to get to his boyfriend. Warm milk was for lady chats and rough days, and he knew it wasn’t going to be the former.

Blaine approached the choir room and heard some random melancholy notes being struck on the piano. He rounded the corner to find Kurt huddled up on the bench before it, pounding on each key with one single pointed finger.

“Kurt, honey?” he ventured.

“What?” Kurt’s response was muffled; the way he was sitting, his face was half buried in the fabric of his jacket.

“A little birdie… well, a really _tall_ birdie, that is… mentioned you might have something to tell me?”

“Yeah, I have something to tell you,” Kurt said angrily. “Your boyfriend is destined to be nothing but a Lima Loser.”

“There is absolutely nothing about you that says loser, Kurt.”

“I beg to differ.”

Kurt thrust a crumpled sheet of paper in Blaine’s general direction without turning to look at him. Blaine gingerly took the paper and smoothed it enough to read it.

“Dear Mr. Hummel, we regret to inform you that… oh god, Kurt, no…”

“Yes. I’m a reject. Again. They might as well have addressed it, Dear Loser.”

“But… but I don’t understand. I know I might’ve been watching with the ‘boyfriend blinders’ on, but I _saw_ your audition. You NAILED it. It was the most incredible performance I’ve ever seen from you, and Ms. Thibideaux seemed so impressed…”

“Yeah, well, I guess ‘seemed’ doesn’t mean squat.” Kurt chuckled humorlessly. “ You want to know the real kick in the pants? Rachel got in.”

Blaine’s eyes shot up from the page in his hand that he was rereading over and over, desperately trying to find one morsel of information that would help him understand why Kurt wasn’t accepted. “WHAT?” he cried. “But – but… she CHOKED at her audition!”

“Yep.”

“TWICE!”

“Uh-huh.”

“And she harassed Ms. Thibideaux. Repeatedly.”

“That’s her.”

“An – and all her extracurriculars besides the musical and the Glee club are bullshit – she just joins to be in the pictures!”

“Believe me, Blaine, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.” Kurt sighed heavily. “Just another case of the effeminate gay kid getting the shaft.” He winced. “Oooh, sorry, that was an inappropriate unintended pun.”

“Kurt, this is musical theatre. In New York. Gay and effeminate don’t matter.”

“Well pardon me for not thinking straight right now.”

Blaine carefully perched himself on the edge of the piano bench next to Kurt. He wanted to wrap his arms around Kurt in the biggest, tightest, warmest bear hug he could manage, but the way Kurt was curled up on himself, he figured he had better wait until Kurt seemed more receptive.

“So, what are you going to do now?” he asked delicately.

“I don’t knowwww,” Kurt almost whined.

“I know getting into NYADA was so important to you, but please don’t tell me you don’t have a backup plan.”

“Of course I do,” Kurt replied indignantly. “What, do you think I’m stupid? Or Rachel Berry?” He fiddled around with a piece of fuzz that had dared land on the sleeve of his jacket. “I applied to a few  other schools. Tisch and University of Michigan for musical theatre, though it’s probably too late for that since arts programs generally require auditions – oh WHY did NYADA take so long to notify us? – um, Parsons, just for grins, OSU… that was as a joke, but it’s kind of not a joke anymore now, is it?”

“Have you gotten letters from any of them?”

“I’ve gotten letters from all of them, but they’re sitting in a drawer, unopened.  I guess I thought I’d be jinxing NYADA if I entertained any thoughts of attending any other school.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Blaine jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands together. “Well, Kurt Hummel, here’s what we’re going to do. First of all, you’re going to drink this warm milk that your brother so thoughtfully committed B&E to make for you, and you’re going to let me give you the giant hug that I’ve been so patiently refraining from bestowing upon you. Then we’re going to your house to open those letters and see which school will have the honor of your presence in the fall.”

Kurt looked up at Blaine, smiling softly at his enthusiasm but not really feeling it. “Honestly, I thought maybe I’d just stay here in Lima for the next year, get some generals done at the community college, and then we could coordinate our plans and applications in the spring. Then we wouldn’t have to be apart…”

“NO!” Blaine thundered. “Whoa, that was really loud. Um, I mean, no, Kurt. Don’t you dare think of giving up now. I can’t deny that I’d love to have you here while I finish school, and the thought that you’d do that for me? It makes my heart truly sing. But Kurt, you are WAY too good for Lima. You need to go somewhere appreciative of the magic that is Kurt Hummel. Wherever you land, I WILL find you next year. You said we’d work out the long distance relationship, and I’m going to hold you to it. We’re going to email and text and Skype and plan amazing reunions with each other, and we’re going to have an amazing summer together before it all happens.”

He reached out a hand, and when Kurt took it, he pulled Kurt up off the bench and into his arms. He stood on tippy toes to kiss Kurt right on the tip of his nose. “Come on. We’re going to get this all figured out. I’m anxious to see where I’ll be visiting you over weekends and breaks!”

Kurt allowed himself to be dragged out of the auditorium and to the parking lot to his car. After the speech Blaine gave him, he almost didn’t care where he ended up, because as long as he had Blaine, he knew everything would be okay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I share Blaine's opinions. Or he shares mine. Whatever the case, this author is NOT happy about that episode.


	11. Kurt and Blaine watch the finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurt and Blaine watch the finale of "Joy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things you need to know: basically, I've flipflopped names so Kurt and Blaine can keep their own identities. The show in this fic is called Joy, and all the character names are the actors' real names. I called the Cheerios "Kix" (ya know, 'cause they're both cereal, and 'cause cheerleaders kick and all that...yeah, it was funnier when I thought of it). And Klaine are as big of CrissColfer shippers as I am a Klainer. So this is kinda reenacting my own viewing of the finale.

 

Kurt stood in front of the coffee table taking inventory of their mandatory Joy season finale supplies.

“Let’s see… tissues?”

Blaine held up two boxes. “His and his! Check!”

“Water for rehydration?”

Blaine pointed to two glasses and a pitcher of ice water. “Check!”

“Pain relievers for the inevitable crying headaches?”

Blaine looked around, and fining nothing, he dashed off to the bathroom for the bottle of ibuprofen. “Check!”

“Aaaaaannnnd Ben and Jerry’s for afterward?”

Blaine went into the kitchen to check the freezer. “The only two men I love almost as much as I love you. Check!” He stood in the doorway holding up his carton of Cherry Garcia and Kurt’s of Mint Oreo Cookie.

“I think we’ve got everything!” Kurt carefully settled himself on the sofa underneath their favorite cuddle blankets, but Blaine, being the giant puppy he was, made a flying leap and landed with a thud on the sofa next to Kurt, jostling him violently.

“What did I tell you about jumping on the furniture, Blaine?”

“The last time I recall you scolding me for jumping on the furniture was way back when you were still at Dalton. The statute of limitations has run out.”

“The statue of limitations will never run out on you destroying my furniture. Consider the ‘Treat Furniture With Respect and Don’t Jump On It’ rule reinstated and in effect until further notice.”

“You are no fun whatsoever.” Blaine burrowed head first under the bottom of Kurt’s blanket and crawled up underneath it to spoon with Kurt.

“Hey, get your own blanket!” Kurt said with mock indignation.

“Nope, not happening. You’re much warmer, and besides, you always make me feel better when I cry.” He got himself situated just as the opening number of Joy started up.

**xXxXxXx**

“Awww look at them perform Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat again!” Kurt exclaimed.

“Look at CHRIS! He’s so grown up compared to season one!”

“Yeah, they’ve all changed, but the Puberty Stick beat the hell out of Chris!”

“It sure did him a world of good, though, he’s SO gorgeous,” Blaine swooned.

Kurt pretended to be offended. “Hey! Swooning is only allowed when it’s directed at me.’’

“Oh sweetie, you know I’m always happy to swoon over you!” Blaine pretended to scream and faint, and he dropped dramatically into Kurt’s lap, pretending to be out cold.

“Get up, you doofus,” he said pretending to shove Blaine to the floor, but Blaine held tight and snuggled closer.

_“There’s only one thing left to do. Say goodbye.”_

“Aww, look at Chris smile when he looks at Darren. They make each other so happy!”

“Poor Darren, though. You can tell he’s still hurting whenever he thinks about Chris leaving.”

“I can’t blame him,” Blaine said. “I put myself in his shoes and get all choked up.”

They listened in silence as Mr. Morrison sang Forever Young.

 “You know,” said Kurt. “I don’t normally dig Matt Morrison – I think he’s creepy and inappropriate most of the time, but this actually isn’t a bad song.”

“He’s done worse – that Thong Song was a crime.”

Kurt shuddered as he recalled the number that never should have been.  “It sure was – OOOH Chris voiceover!”

They both watched attentively as Chris walked down the hall and spoke of his life and accomplishments at McKinley. “I love that scarf.”

“We’ll have to watch the Fashion of Joy site and see if it pops up. Maybe we can get one and share it, although you look better in blue…”

“LOOK!” Kurt exclaimed. “Baby gays! Oh wait, Chris calls them ‘tadpole’ gays. I honestly didn’t think we’d see more out students before the series was over, the way they’re treated at this school.”

Chris walked into the auditorium and was surprised to see his dad sitting on the edge of the stage waiting for him.

“YAY! MIKE!” Blaine cheered and clapped his hands. “Best dad EVER!”

“But why is he in the auditorium?

“Dad speech, shhhhh!”

They sat back and listened intently – the Mike scenes were always the best.

“He’s so awkward with the ways of gays,” Kurt remarked. “He reminds me of my own dad.”

“Aww, they’re proud of each other!” Blaine pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

Kurt suddenly clamped his hands down on Blaine’s arm. “OH MY GOD. Is he going to do what I think he’s going to do??”

Blaine’s face broke out into a huge smile. “HE IS! And look at the GLOVE!”

They sat up straight and watched Mike dance his way through the Single Ladies dance and do a surprisingly good job with it.

“They really should have Chris join in on this,” Blaine said dreamily. “The videos of the Joy Live tour can NEVER be enough hip thrusting for me.”

“I need to learn the Single Ladies dance myself – you seem to like my hip thrusting at other times…” Kurt winked.

Blaine snorted. Loudly. Kurt laughed so hard he started crying. Blaine grabbed a wad of tissues out of the box and handed it to Kurt and took a few for himself. This was truly hilarious.

“Oh my God, that was absolutely perfect. Mike’s got MOVES!”

“Oh, shh shh shh! This is that scene that was in the promos!”

Chris and Darren walked into an empty classroom and sat next to each other.

_“We’ve been putting this off for far too long, but um, don’t you think that we should have ‘the talk’?”_

“Yes, dear God, please have the talk. I’ve been chewing my fingernails off waiting to see what they’ve decided.”

_“Do you know how I picture the end of my life? Just like in “The Notebook”. I’m sitting in a nursing home, talking endlessly about my high school sweetheart, my first love, going on and on about every little detail, as if they matter. Only, in my version, he’s there with me.”_

“AWWWWWWW!” they cooed simultaneously.

“That is the sweetest thing!” Blaine practically squealed.

“Oh my god, Chris is me!” Kurt looked at Blaine lovingly. “Did you know I’ve often thought the exact same thing?”

“Aww, I love you too, Kurt!” Blaine quickly pecked Kurt on the cheek, not wanting to pull his eyes away from the screen.

“ _I told you I’m never saying goodbye to you. We’ll figure out this whole long distance relationship thing. I promise.”_

_“Okay.”_

“That’s it?” Kurt asked indignantly. “No kiss? No hug? Still sitting three feet apart? Good grief, Joy. It’s the season finale. Toss us a bone, here.”

Blaine snorted softly. “Really, Blaine? Must you act like a ten year old boy every time I use that phrase?”

“It’s _funny_!” Blaine protested.

“You’re a pervert,” Kurt said.

“Shut up! Another Chris speech!”

“Aww he’s trying not to cry,” Kurt said, grabbing a tissue and delicately dabbing the corners of his eyes.

_“’Cause in this room it doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight. What matters is that we’re friends.”_

“Oh my gosh, I love Madonna!”

“I love this song. Chris sounds so angelic singing it. I only wish I was as good as he is.”

“Hey hey hey, Kurt,” Blaine said, pulling Kurt closer to him. “You are every bit as good as he is, and I don’t want to hear anything different from you. You make me want to swoon every time I hear you.”

“We’re back to that swooning thing again, huh?”

“Well, you SAID I could only swoon if it’s over you, and it IS over you, so…”

“Oh, right. Carry on,” Kurt allowed.

They paused a moment to enjoy how wonderful Chris sounded singing I Remember.

“Look at him every time he sings ‘the love that you gave me’. Chris looks at Darren the same way you look at me. And the same way I imagine I look at you.”

Kurt nodded. “You do. There is never a moment when I don’t feel the love we have for each other.”

Suddenly Kurt burst out laughing. “He’s singing, I’ve never been afraid to cry. Ain’t THAT the truth. I swear, all they do on this show is make him cry. Let’s give him bullies, let’s make his dad have a heart attack, let’s vote him prom queen, let’s make Lea stuff the ballot box and almost get him suspended… “

“I know, right? Someone should notify the writers that though the phrase is cry me a river, they shouldn’t actually make him do it.”

“Oooh, acceptance letters are coming out! I’m so excited!” Kurt cheered.

“Darren should really have been included in their little pact. Acceptance letters affect him, too.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Though I don’t know why they’re concerned. We all know both Chris and Lea will make it into NYADA.”

“Even though Lea choked?” Blaine asked incredulously. “Honestly, she gave a horrible first impression on that stage, and a show choir performance as part of ensemble isn’t really indicative of what she can do in musical theatre. I can’t see why they’d choose her.”

“PLEASE – this whole show is the Lea show,” Kurt scoffed. “Of course she’s going to NYADA.”

 “And Chris is a shoo in. That audition of his was _incredible,_ ” Blaine gushed.

Kurt laughed. “Tell me your favorite part of the whole audition wasn’t those gold pants.”

Blaine fidgeted uncomfortably under Kurt’s gaze. “Well sue me! I swear to God he was smuggling a can of Pringles in those things!”

“You’re turned on right now just thinking of them, aren’t you?” Kurt’s hand slowly inched up Blaine’s leg under the blankets.

Blaine blushed. “Well, mostly I’m just praying Fashion of Glee has them so I can buy you a pair. And I’m gonna make sure yours are about three sizes too small, too, so they’re as tight on you as they are on him.”

“Oooh, you totally like that idea,” Kurt said as his hand reached its destination. He leaned in for a kiss and began to allow his hand to do what it wanted to do when Blaine jumped up.

“Wait, wait! We’re missing the show!”

“Seriously Blaine? You care about the show right now?” Kurt flopped against the back of the couch in frustration.”

Blaine gestured downward. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I care about _this_ , too, but I think I’d rather care about this behind closed doors…?”

Kurt sighed. “All right, all right. You have a point.”

Blaine grabbed the remote control and rewound. “Thank goodness for DVRs – we’ve missed at least five minutes. Oops, I went too far. Saw that, saw that, didn’t see that. Okay.”

“Amber got a recording contract. Gee, surprise, surprise.”

“Well, duh! She always makes me cry when she sings, it’s so gorgeous,” Blaine said. “It’s just too bad it’s only as a backup singer. She deserves to be in the spotlight.”

“Everyone has to pay their dues, Blaine. Oh wait, Joffrey? What the hell? Since when has there been any indication that Harry was into classical ballet? Alvin Ailey made so much more sense!”

“This is Joy. Nothing makes sense, Kurt.”

“Jeez, no kidding.”

“Is that Gloria Estefan? _One, two, three, four, come on baby say you love me!”_ Blaine sang.

“Shut up, Blaine. Okay, so Naya doesn’t want to go to Kentucky, and Heather’s not graduating. Could’ve called that.”

“ _Five, six, seven ti-imes,”_ Blaine continued.

“Shut UP, Blaine!”

“ _Eight, nine, ten, eleven, I’m just gonna keep on counting…”_

“I mean it, Blaine!”

_“Un-til you are mi-ine!”_

Kurt clapped his hand over Blaine’s mouth to get him to stop singing, but Blaine licked Kurt’s hand.

“Eeew, BLAINE, that’s revolting!”

“Really Kurt? It’s just spit. You never say that when I’m licking other – “

“ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT! You wanted to keep on watching, let’s watch.”

Blaine laughed. “Maybe next time you’ll let me sing.”

“Maybe next time, I’ll cut you off,” Kurt threatened.

“Oooh, I’m scared.”

“You should be. Who knows when the next time you’d be able to get all up in this might be.”

“You’re so cocky, Kurt.”

“I thought you liked that about me.”

“Wait, what is Chris doing?”

Finally ripping their attention away from each other and directing it toward the screen, they discovered that there was a group number going on the screen. “Oh that’s adorable! Chris is reeling Darren in!”

“Stop the presses, they’re touching each other on the shoulders!”

“Fox should really blur that out, ‘cause it’s sooooo controversial,” Blaine said sarcastically.

“Oh hey, check it out, Darren has socks on. You should really take a lesson from him, Blaine.”

“But I HATE socks!”

“You do not. You have a drawer full of the most flamingly gay socks I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know they made those patterns in mens sizes.”

“You can find anything on eBay. And besides, if I MUST wear socks, I insist they be fun.”

“And blinding.” Kurt mimed putting on a pair of sunglasses.

“EEEW, Monchele scene!” Blaine burst out.

“Chairs? Are they seriously running that low on plot points?” Kurt said. “And for the record, both chairs are absolutely hideous.”

“Lea’s not very convincing in this scene. No wonder Cory’s doubting her.”

“Good. I’ve always thought their relationship was a trainwreck. They break up more than I change my underwear. And we know fastidious I am about my undergarments.”

“When you’re wearing them, that is,” Blaine said suggestively, waggling his pointy eyebrows.

“Don’t EVEN start, Blaine Anderson. You said you wanted to watch the show, we’re watching the show.”

They sat back and listened to Cory’s voiceover about his Actor’s Studio audition.

“That headshot makes Cory look seriously deranged,” Kurt commented.

“He looks like Hammy the Squirrel from Over the Hedge with his eyes bugged out like that.”

“Like I said. Deranged.”

“Oh my god – is Matt going to tell Cory about the pot?”

“He did! Holy crap! He’s gonna FREAK!”

_“Ýou are so much cooler than I ever thought you were.”_

Kurt and Blaine sat staring at the TV for a moment. “Are you SERIOUS? He was cool with that?? I would’ve sued MattyMo’s creepy ass!” Blaine exclaimed.

“This show makes no sense,” Kurt said, shaking his head.

Blaine chuckled. “Are you just NOW figuring this out?”

“No, just reiterating. For like the jillionth time.”

They sat silent for a few moments as they watched a scene with Cory and Romy, and then they were brought back to the choir room once again.

“Now Kevin is making Cory sound like this saint. Will they NEVER realize that he’s not as great as everyone makes him out to be?” Kurt wondered.

“Well, I don’t think he’s as bad as all of that, but this whole song being for him? That’s not fair to the other seniors. Wasn’t this supposed to be about the juniors saying goodbye to the seniors and vice versa?”

“That would require, I don’t know, continuity or something. Oooh, check it out – Darren and Chris got to look meaningfully at each other when they sang the word ‘lovers.’ I think that’s about as close as Fox is going to let Joy get to admitting that they slept together,” Kurt said with great sarcasm. “Hell, sometimes I forget they have.”

“Oh like hell you have, Kurt. I see you replaying that episode more often than you will admit to.”

“Hey, I like the music. So sue me.”

“You like the music so much that you skip all of it except for the song in the final scene?” Blaine teased.

“Shut up,” Kurt grumbled.

“Oh, I get it. You like the part at the beginning where Darren is listening to Roxy Music and then talks about masturbation.”

Kurt’s face grew dark red. “I said shut UP! Watch the damn show, would you?”

Blaine grinned. “No problem. I was just killing time ‘til this subpar rendition of In My Life was over with anyway.”

“It wasn’t THAT bad.”

“Yeah it was. But what can I expect from someone who also thought Candles ‘wasn’t that bad’?”

“It WASN’T!” Kurt protested. “It was their first song together as a couple.”

“So you basically admit you were in it for the sappy aspect of it, and not for the fact that it was actually any good. I always knew you were a hopeless romantic.”

“Yeah, well you’re just hopeless.”

“Am not!”

“Are too. Now watch Dianna’s voiceover or I’m going to turn this off and then NOT let you bitch at me because you’re missing it.”

“Fine. You’re such a sucky boyfriend,” Blaine whined.

“Keep it going and you’ll find out how ‘sucky’ I am not,” Kurt said with a raised eyebrow. Blaine immediately caught his true meaning and shut his mouth post haste.

“Do you buy this whole Dianna and Lea friendship? I mean, they’ve fought like stray cats so much. It seems so out of the blue.”

“And all that money spent on that metro pass? Whatever.”

“Whoa, Dianna! ‘I love you’ Mark??”

“How patronizing can she get? ‘Now are you gonna let me kiss you?’”

“Don’t do it!”

“Ugh. Dianna, just go away. Go to Yale, leave him ALONE. Neither of you need each other. This whole scene feels completely insincere.”

“Oh my gosh. I LOVE Nene and Jane scenes! They are so rude to each other. It’s great!”

_“That’s quite an accomplishment for a pregnant woman, whose ass is so old she went to school with Moses.”_

Blaine had been taking a sip of soda but did a spit take all over the coffee table.

“EEEWW gross, Blaine!”

“Ooops, sorry babe,” Blaine apologized through his laughter. “Her insults are just so funny!”

“Well you should know better than to be drinking something when she’s on the screen. You laugh your ass off every time she speaks.”

“ _You think that over, Jane Lynch, while you nurse your 1000 year old vampire baby. You just be sure to bottlefeed because that baby is going to use those sharp ass teeth to bite holes in those saggy old boobs.”_

Blaine giggled again.

“I swear, this is the only time you are ever going to think boobs are funny. I remember a time when you were totally grossed out by the thought of boobs. That time when all the cheerleaders danced with you? You looked like, eew, boobs, Kurt, save me!”

“No, I was thinking that it should’ve been you up there dancing with me instead of doing your admittedly adorable little shimmy on the lunch tables without me.”

“Yeah, you go ahead and tell yourself that. I know the real reason.” Kurt smirked at Blaine, daring him to contradict him.

“Here comes Dianna again,”

“Oooh, nice avoidance tactic. I applaud you, Blaine Anderson.”

“Shhh, you keep telling me to watch, I’m watching.” Blaine pointedly tried to avoid Kurt.

Dianna returned her Kix uniform to Jane, who promptly told her to keep it as she was retiring it.

“Insert completely stupid crying scene here,” Kurt said, his sarcasm still in full force.

“I don’t think it was that bad. Jane was a big part of Dianna’s life, even if she was a big bitch to her a lot.”

Cut to a scene with half the Glee club pacing in front of the history teacher’s classroom.

“You think he passed it this time?” Blaine asked.

“Oh, you know he did! Mark was in all the promo pics with all the other seniors. Just like we knew Heather wasn’t graduating ‘cause she wasn’t.”

_“C-! That’s a Salling A+! I’m  graduating!”_

“See? Told ya!” Kurt said smugly.

“Aww look at all of them in their caps and gowns!”

“Look at Darren in his cute suit and bowtie!” Kurt squealed. “He’s just so dapper!”

“Why is Mark jamming on stage with an electric guitar? This doesn’t look like any graduation I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh because of course every school sings Glory Days in a mob while ONLY the show choir seniors come dancing out on stage in no particular order.”

“Holy SHIT! Look at that leg kick from Chris!” Blaine said in awe.

“Oh, don’t get so excited. Have you forgotten that I can kick my leg that high, too?”

“No, and it never ceases to amaze me that you never pull a muscle when you do that. I lift my leg parallel to the floor and throw my back out every time.”

“Look, look! The old-fashioned gentleman that Darren is has a proper hanky to give to Chris!”

“And they’re both dabbing their eyes! That is adorable as hell,” Blaine said as both he and Kurt dabbed their eyes as well.

“Chris is wearing that beetle brooch again. I love that thing! He wore it while he was singing Defying Gravity, too!”

“That ugly thing?”

“IT IS NOT UGLY. It is a sequined Ann Demeulemeester Beetle Brooch and it is fabulous. And it is no longer available.”

“Ahh, I see. So you know this because… “

“I may have researched it to see if I could buy it.”

“Dammit, can Monchele NOT keep their lips off each other for one second? I mean seriously, what is it about stages that makes them need to plaster their lips together?”

“I don’t know, but I’m tired of it took.”

“Uh, oh, here we go. Choir room with Chris, Lea, and Cory. This can only mean one thing…”

_“I’m seriously having trouble breathing right now.”_

“Me too, Chris, me too,” Kurt said softly.

“He’ll be FINE, Kurt. Carmen Tibideaux knows talent when she sees it.”

_“This is the last moment before we know.”_

“Shut up and get on with it, Cory.”

“Well, it’s no surprise Cory didn’t get in. He decided, like, what? Two episodes ago? That he wanted to be an actor? People who want to be actors tend to know most of their LIVES that they want to be actors…”

“Chris is up next…”

“WHAT??” Kurt and Blaine screeched simultaneously.

Blaine hit the pause button. “What the FUCK was THAT?”

“Oh god, look at where you hit the pause button – that poor baby’s face! He looks so devastated! See, now this is why I wished they had had Darren in on this scene. Cory’s got his Lea, but where is Chris’ Darren?”

“But… but… he NAILED it! I don’t UNDERSTAND!”

“UGH these STUPID writers!”

“Well, let’s just keep watching so we can rejoice over Lea’s rejection for a little bit,” Blaine said as he pressed the play button to continue on with the show.

_“I got in.”_

Silence.

Kurt took the remote away from Blaine and threw it at the wall where it chipped the paint upon impact. “I HATE THIS DAMN SHOW!” he yelled.

“HEY, KEEP IT DOWN DOWN THERE!” Burt’s voice could be heard from upstairs.

“SORRY DAD!” Kurt hollered back.

Blaine scanned the room for hidden cameras. “Am I on Candid Camera or Punk’d or something? ‘Cause that did NOT just happen. She. Fucked. Up. And she is a STALKER. And yet they WANT a stalker that chokes at their school? Well, Joy, you have my attention. Please tell me what your bullshit reasoning for THAT is.”

“Now it’s Lea’s turn for a voiceover. Can we just fast forward through this?”

Kurt jumped up and grabbed the remote intending to skip Lea’s part until they heard her talking about NYADA.

_“I can’t bring Cory to New York. He’ll be reminded of his rejection every day. And being there without Chris would be like remaking Beaches without the Bette Midler character. So I’ve decided. I’m deferring my acceptance to NYADA for a year and working with the two of them on their applications and auditions to guarantee we’ll all go there together next year.”_

“God, Lea, what makes you think Chris will want your help? What makes you think because you got in and he didn’t that he NEEDS your help? Of all the self-centered, self-righteous, BULLSHIT – “

Blaine sighed loudly. “Kurt, I think it’s time to accept that this show has disappointed us greatly and just go into the hiatus knowing that the writers and creators don’t give a flying monkey’s left buttcheek about we fans want for the characters. ‘Cause lord knows they haven’t given us much so far.”

Kurt flopped back onto the couch. “You’re right, you’re right. I am far too invested in fictional characters. I am _far_ too invested in fictional – oh my GOD, Cory and Lea, lips to your damn SELVES – characters. I am FAR too invested in fictional characters.” He excused himself to the restroom, giving Blaine permission to continue watching the show without him.

Kurt was gone long enough where he came back to a scene of Lea walking down the streets of New York singing Roots Before Branches.

“Clearly I missed something. What happened? Readers Digest Condensed Version, please?”

“Well, let’s see. First you missed Naya’s mom giving her a crapload of money to use to follow her dreams of stardom in New York. Then in the next scene, Cory and Lea were in the car driving to what Lea thought was her wedding but was really a train station. Cory broke their engagement and insisted that she not defer her admission, and he decided to go to Fort Bening, GA, to try to redeem his father by joining the army, and he said he chose it because it was one of the only places she couldn’t follow him. You missed an EPIC Lea uglyfaced crying fit, and now you see what I’m seeing here. This song has gone on for awhile.”

“Sounds like I didn’t miss anything good.”

“Nope.”

“So… that was it? No Chris resolution? No Darren or Mike reaction? Nothing? Just Lea, Lea, Lea?”

“That’s about right.”

“Why the hell do I watch this show?”

“Because Darren and Chris are cute?”

“They’re not nearly as cute as we are, though,” Kurt said, scooting next to Blaine and pulling him close for a kiss.

“Nope, not at all.”


	12. I Hate a Rainy Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Apologies to Eddie Rabbitt for bastardizing his song lyric for the sake of my fic.**

_“A severe thunderstorm warning has just been issued for portions of Van Wert, Putnam, and Allen counties. Cities in the path of the storm include Convoy, Delphos, Elida, and Lima. Citizens in the path of this storm should be prepared to take cover as the conditions are right for severe weather and possibly tornadoes to develop. We’ll be breaking into programming throughout the evening for weather news as it happens – stay tuned…”_

Kurt clicked off the TV and sat curled up under his favorite throw blanket in the living room. He was alone that evening – Burt and Carole were in D.C. for some sort of congressman’s ball or something or other, and Finn was at “Puck’s” house. That was the official story, but Kurt knew all too well that as soon as he had put in some time at Puck’s house to keep up appearances, he would be sneaking into one Rachel Berry’s bedroom under the cover of darkness.

Had Kurt known there would be storms that night, he would never have been quite so excited to have the house to himself.

Kurt had been terrified of storms since his mother died, but ever since Karofsky and the bullying, his fear got worse; there was something about the sound of a body slamming against a metal locker that sounded eerily like thunder to Kurt’s ears.

The sky outside the Hummel residence began to flicker with lightning flashes.  Kurt counted, one Mississippi, two Mississippi, all the way up to ten Mississippis.  _Two miles away,_ he thought.

He sat huddled up under his blanket on the couch as the number of seconds between lightning and thunder decreased. The sky seemed to open up; the rain came down in buckets. This was not cats and dogs, this was lions and wolves. Big ones.

Kurt began to tremble as the lightning flashes grew brighter. The thunderclaps were almost right on top of the lightning strikes. Suddenly, lightning and thunder came at the exact same time, the thunder almost deafening, and Kurt shrieked loudly. The house went black.

“Oh god, it must’ve hit the power lines,” Kurt said out loud.

With the little bit of light from the screen of his cell phone combined with the still numerous lightning flashes and his intimate knowledge of the layout of the house, he was able to make his way to the kitchen safely and dig out some matches and candles.  They weren’t of much use, though; Kurt’s hand shook so hard as he tried to light a match that he didn’t feel like he should be handling fire, so he set the matches aside again and crept slowly and carefully to the hall closet where he knew his father kept an old battery powered camping lantern. It was buried way in the back behind the family’s winter coats, but he felt a surge of victory as his fingers wrapped around the handle and he pulled out his prize.

“Now, let’s just hope this thing works,” he mumbled. Much to his own surprise, he fist pumped as the light slowly but surely flickered on. He whipped his head around as if there was actually someone there to see; he felt so silly.

Another lightning bolt crashed almost directly above the house causing Kurt to jump what felt like several feet off the ground, and he practically dove back underneath his blanket on the couch. The storm raged on with Kurt singing show tunes very loudly in an attempt to drown out the sound of the storm. His voice would break on occasion as a particularly violent sounding strike would scare him, but he kept going.

It wasn’t until he took a short break when he was feeling hoarse that he noticed two things: one, that the storm was letting up, and two, that there was a curious pounding on the door.

“KURT! CAN YOU HEAR ME? OPEN UP!” came a voice from the other side of the door.

Kurt paused to listen more carefully.

“KURT! COME ON, HONEY! I KNOW YOU’RE HOME!”

“Blaine?” Kurt said incredulously, dashing to the door and fumbling over the lock in his hurry to open it.

He threw open the door to find his boyfriend standing on the porch, dripping and soaked to the skin.

“Blaine! What are you doing here?”

“I know how much storms bother you and that no one would be home tonight. I couldn’t get you on your phone and I got worried about you.”

Kurt pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, only to note that the battery had run out. “Oh! The battery is dead. Not that I’d have been able to do anything about it – as you can see, the power is out,” he said, gesturing to the darkness inside the house.

Just then, another bolt of lightning crashed through the neighborhood, and a sheet of rain cascaded down from the sky.

“Um, Kurt? Can I come in, please?” Blaine pleaded as he somehow managed to become even more drenched than he already was.

“Oh my GOD! I’m so sorry, get in here!” Kurt reached out and grabbed Blaine’s arm and practically dragged him inside the house. “Stand right here!” he commanded Blaine as he took off for the downstairs bathroom. He rushed back into the room with his arms full of towels, practically throwing them at Blaine. “Let’s get you dried off enough so I can take you upstairs for some dry clothes.”

Blaine grabbed a towel and started wringing out his hair as Kurt bent down and unlaced Blaine’s shoes.

“We need to get you out of these wet things,” Kurt said. Blaine snorted, and when Kurt looked up at him, Blaine was smirking.

“Get your brain out of your pants, Blaine,” Kurt chastised him.

“Considering you were just about to get INTO my pants and take them off, you can’t blame me for going there,” Blaine replied cheekily.

Noticing that his hands had indeed been moving up to Blaine’s waist to unfasten his pants, Kurt snatched them away like Blaine’s pants were on fire.

“I think you’re dry enough to go upstairs. On with you!” Kurt pointed up the stairs toward his room.

“Ahhh, Cooper would be so proud!”

“GO!” Kurt ordered.

Blaine chuckled and headed up the steps. When he was halfway up, the thunder boomed again, and Kurt nearly jumped out of his skin. When Blaine heard Kurt’s whimper, he turned around and ran back downstairs to comfort him. He wrapped his arms around Kurt, wet clothing and all, and amazingly, Kurt didn’t seem to care.  Kurt melted into Blaine’s embrace and stayed there… until he felt the dampness began to soak through to his own skin.

“Okay, come on. For real this time. We need to get you warm and dry before you catch cold.”

“You do realize that you catch a cold from catching a virus and not by being stuck in the wet and cold, right?” Blaine informed him.

“Shush and let me take care of you,” Kurt directed. He grabbed the camping lantern and followed Blaine up the stairs.

He sent Blaine into the bathroom with the lantern for a shower; the power hadn’t been out that long so the water in the water heater would still be hot at that point. He dug around in his dresser for one of the changes of clothes Blaine left there (one too many “walks of shame” in Kurt’s too-long pants and too-tight shirts caused him to be proactive about extra clothing choices) and set them inside the bathroom on the vanity. Between the dark and Blaine’s voice warbling out a tune in the shower, Blaine didn’t even hear Kurt’s temporary intrusion.

While Blaine was showering, the storm seemed to have renewed its vigor and pummeled the house with several continuous nearby lightning strikes and thunderclaps. Kurt dove under the covers of his bed, curled up in the fetal position, and began humming softly to himself while he waited for Blaine to emerge from the bathroom.

Wearing just his spare pair of pajama pants, Blaine came out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair with the towel. It made it poof up more, but Blaine wasn’t planning on going anywhere so he just let the curls explode as they may.

“Well _that_ was the weirdest shower I’ve ever taken,” Blaine commented, setting the lantern down on Kurt’s desk. “I know I don’t need to be able to see to wash myself but it felt so strange being in the dark and… Kurt?” His eyes focused on the trembling figure underneath the covers; Kurt was so far underneath the blankets that only a few strands of hair could be seen.

“Kurt, honey, talk to me,” Blaine begged. He sat down on the bed and pulled his boyfriend close to him. Kurt abruptly stopped his humming but refused to speak, instead snuggling up to Blaine and resting his head on Blaine’s skin, right above his heart.

Blaine, sensing that his presence was needed more than his words, said nothing more and set about making himself and Kurt a little more comfortable. Lulled by the sound of Blaine’s heartbeat, Kurt stopped shaking and drifted off to sleep, his fear obviously exhausting him.

Blaine himself was woken early the next morning by the sound of birds chirping and a man’s low voice calling his name.

“Blaine,” Burt whispered, “wake up.”

Blaine stiffened, and not in the pleasurable way. He and Kurt had been dating for awhile, but Burt had never forgotten the great Rachel Berry party debacle of 2011; Blaine had been strictly forbidden from sleeping in Kurt’s room, and most certainly in Kurt’s bed, since then.

“Oh shit,” Blaine swore. “Burt, I’m so sorry, there was a storm and he was scared and he just shut down and I didn’t know what to do and – “ He struggled to extract himself from Kurt’s grip without waking him, but Burt placed his hand on Blaine’s arm to stop his movement.

“Calm down, son, I know. It’s okay. I know how bad he gets – if I had had any idea there was going to be a storm I would’ve skipped out on the event or taken him with me or something. He shouldn’t really be alone, you know.”

“Well, I know that _now_ , but I don’t get it. This is more than just a phobia – he’s outright terrified.”

“You mean he hasn’t told you?”

“Told me what?”

“Why he’s so afraid of storms.”

Blaine shook his head. “No. I just knew that he was, but I wasn’t even aware of the extent of it until now. This is way worse than I imagined.”

Burt wiped his face with his hand. “Crap, I thought he would’ve told you. He tells you everything else. Okay – I think this is something you need to know, so I’m going to tell you. If he gets mad that you know, though, send him to me and I’ll straighten him out.” He took a deep breath, and Blaine thought he could detect a hint of Burt pushing back his own emotions.”Kurt’s mother was killed during a strong thunderstorm. The winds had tossed a large branch into the road, and she was almost successful in driving around it, but on her way around it, she hydroplaned and spun into oncoming traffic. She was hit head-on and killed instantly.”

Blaine was momentarily speechless. “Shit. That’d do it.” He looked at Burt sympathetically. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks kid, but it was a long time ago. Thank YOU for knowing that Kurt needed someone and coming to him.”

“It was my pleasure. I only wish I had gotten to him sooner.”

“You’re here, and that’s all that matters,” Burt assured him. He got up from his perch on the side of the bed where he had sat while talking to Blaine and made to leave the room. He stopped before he reached the door and turned to address Blaine again. “Um, this is NOT to become an everyday thing, but if there is no one here to be with Kurt when a storm comes through, you have my permission to come and stay with him. I feel bad that I can’t always be there for him, so it’s nice to have another person I can count on to care for him.”

“You can, and I do,” Blaine promised.

Burt nodded and made his way out of the room without another word. Blaine absentmindedly ran his fingers through the hair of the head that was still resting peacefully on his chest.

With a feather-light kiss to Kurt’s temple, Blaine whispered softly, “You can always count on me,” to the boy in his arms who had stolen his heart.


	13. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what I imagine might happen if Kurt was sick and Finn had to take care of him.

_Text from Kurt: Cant go out tonite. Sorry._

Blaine looked at his phone in confusion. He had just been putting the finishing touches on his outfit for his date with Kurt that night and was just about to leave to pick up Kurt when the text came in.

_To Kurt: Why not??_

_From Kurt: Sick_

Blaine was concerned. Kurt was the type to text in complete thoughts and grammatically correct sentences; his alternate spellings, lack of punctuation, and one word sentences were very much unlike him.

He immediately dialed Kurt’s number. After three and a half rings, the call finally connected.

“ _’lo?_ ” Kurt said in a quiet scratchy voice.

It was just one syllable, but Blaine knew Kurt so well that through that one simple partial work, Blaine was able to figure out that Kurt did not feel well at all.

“Oh honey, you don’t sound too good. What’s wrong?”

“ _Dunno. ‘m all hot n sweaty. Stomach feels gross…”_

“Is anyone home with you?”

_“No, just me. ‘s why you were coming over,’ member?”_

“I’m coming over, Kurt. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“ _No, Blaine… don’t wan you to catch it…”_

“You sound kind of echoey – are you in the bathroom? Are you throwing up, Kurt?”

“ _I’ll be okay, don worry - gotta go!”_ Kurt spat out before the call disconnected. Blaine thought he heard the sound of a gag before the call dropped.

 _Shit, he sounds bad,_ Blaine thought. He immediately dialed Finn.

Blaine didn’t even wait for Finn to say Hello before he started talking.

“Finn, it’s Blaine. You need to get home. Kurt’s sick.”

“Um, Blaine, I’m at Rachel’s, and it’s date night, and her dads aren’t home. Can’t you take care of him?”

“Finn, please. I’m going over there, but you know I live pretty far out of town. You could get to him faster. And I might need someone to go to the drug store and pick up some things, but I need to get there to see what’s wrong with him first.”

“Well, okay. But you guys will owe me.”

Blaine grumbled. “I don’t think there is any ‘owing’ to be done when you’re asked to take care of your sick brother. It’s what family… DECENT family… does for each other, Finn.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’m going.”

“Thanks Finn. I’ll see you there.”

Blaine quickly changed into more comfortable clothing and left a note on the kitchen counter for his parents letting them know there was a chance he wouldn’t be home that evening. He grabbed an overnight bag he kept packed for impromptu overnights with Kurt or friends and jumped in his car, making the drive to Kurt’s house in record time.

Finn met him at the door. “Man, you better get in there. He looks pretty bad,” he said.

Blaine frowned. “Does he look, like, hospital bad?”

“I don’t know. But he’s all laid out on the bathroom floor, holding onto it for dear life.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Blaine cursed under his breath and trotted up the stairs to the bathroom Kurt shared with Finn. The sight of Kurt sprawled on the cool tile made Blaine’s heart hurt.

“Oh, Kurt, you’re really sick, aren’t you, baby?”

Kurt raised his head feebly. “Told you not to come. I’ll be okay.”

“This does not look ‘okay,’ Kurt. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“My stomach hurts.”

“Have you been throwing up?”

Kurt nodded minutely, as if he was afraid that moving his head any more would make things worse.

“How many times?”

Kurt held up three fingers.

Blaine sighed. He reached out and put his hand on Kurt’s forehead. It was most definitely very warm, but he didn’t think Kurt was in the danger zone quite yet.

“Can you sit up? I think we should try to get some Tylenol in you,” Blaine said. Kurt slowly pulled himself into a half sitting position while Blaine rummaged through the medicine cabinet. He found a small bottle of Tylenol and shook out a few pills. He added a paper cup full of water and handed both to Kurt. Kurt took them with a little effort and slumped back up against the wall.

Finn stood just outside the bathroom door out of the way. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I THINK it’s just your garden variety stomach virus. I don’t think we need to worry about doctors or ERs at the moment. Is your mom going to be back any time soon?”

“No, I think she was planning to stay with Burt in DC all weekend. She’s probably not going to be back until Sunday night.”

“Crap. I’ve got to work this weekend, and he really shouldn’t be left alone. You’re going to have to take shifts with me.” Finn looked chagrined, but he nodded, knowing that if he was in Kurt’s place, Kurt would absolutely do the same for him.

“I really want to get him into his bed so he can rest. Will you help me pick him – “

Suddenly, Kurt lurched over to the toilet and leaned over the bowl, losing the medicine and water he had just taken in.

Finn closed his eyes and covered his ears. “I did NOT need to see that,” he said, a pained look on his face.

Blaine held Kurt upright as he retched, rubbing his shoulders gently until his stomach stopped rebelling.

“I was afraid that would happen,” Blaine said. “He’s not going to be able to keep traditional pills down.” He caught sight of Finn still hiding his eyes from Kurt. “What’s with you?”

“I’m a bit of, um, Mom calls it a ‘sympathy puker.’ If I see someone else throw up, I usually do too.”

“Oh great, just what we need,” Blaine muttered. “Okay, I’m going to need you to go to the pharmacy. I’ll text you so you know what to get.” He opened up a new text to Finn on his phone and typed in a list of things for Finn to pick up.

Finn opened the message before he left the room so he could ask Blaine any questions if he needed to. “Children’s allergy melts? Blaine, he’s not sneezing.”

“Antihistamines are most commonly used for treating allergies but have a secondary use as anti-nausea medication. A tablet that dissolves in his mouth will be the easiest, and least likely to be thrown up, way of getting the medication in his system.”

“Gatorade… oh, that’s for replacing elec… electro…”

“Electrolytes.”

“Yeah, that. Coach Bieste says we sweat ‘em out and we gotta replace ‘em. I guess Kurt barfed his out.”

“Um, yeah.”

Finn read further down the list and got a strange look on his face. “Tylenol suppositories?”

“Yeah, you might need to ask the pharmacist for them, but you should be able to get them over the counter.”

“Aren’t suppositories something that you,” he paused, looking around, as if someone other than Kurt and Blaine were there to hear him, and dropped his voice, “stuff up your _butt_?”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Yes, Finn, that’s where they go. This way we can get the medicine in his system without worrying about whether or not he can keep it down.”

“Dude, I can’t be seen buying something you put in your BUTT. Some of the guys on the team work at that store. They’ll think I’m _gay,_ ” he said in a whisper.

“Finn, taking medicine rectally does not make you gay. If putting stuff up there makes you gay, then you’ve been gay since you were born since that’s how they take babies’ temperatures.”

“I know, but…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, I’ll go myself. Can I trust you to look after your brother and make sure he doesn’t die in a puddle of his own vomit for half an hour while I run to the store?” Blaine said, extremely frustrated and a little angry at this point.

Chastised, Finn nodded and sighed in relief.

Blaine turned to address Kurt, who was drifting in and out of sleep against the bathroom wall. “Sweetie, I need to go to the store to get you some medicine, and Finn is going to stay with you, okay?”

Kurt looked sleepily at him and nodded slightly. Blaine got up off the floor and began to give Finn instructions.

“Okay, I want you to get him back to his room. Make sure you have the garbage can nearby in case he needs to throw up again. Take a cup of water with you and make him take a couple of very small sips every few minutes – if he gets dehydrated, that is a guaranteed trip to the emergency room. If you have any questions, call me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Finn agreed, and Blaine was off. Finn looked down at the floor at Kurt. Kurt didn’t exactly look like walking was the first thing on his agenda.

“Um, can I maybe just pick you up and carry you to your bed? Might be easier than helping you walk there,” he said to Kurt.

“Yeah,” Kurt said weakly.

Finn squatted down and got Kurt in a bridal hold – one arm around Kurt’s shoulders and the other underneath his knees. However, Finn didn’t plan things very well, and instead of turning and walking sideways through the doorway, he accidently slammed Kurt’s shoulder into the doorframe.

“OW!” Kurt yelled, a tear streaming down his cheek.

“Oh crap,” Finn said. “Sorry, sorry, sorry! I, um, let me get you to your room and then I’ll get some ice for your arm.” He slid through the doorway, correctly this time, and deposited Kurt on his bed.

“Finn, the bedspread,” he protested. Finn shook his head. Kurt looked like death warmed over and his first thought was a fancy blanket?

“All right, all right. Hmmm. Can you scoot over to one side, and then I’ll pull it back, and then you can scoot over to the other side and I’ll pull the thing all the way off?

“Okay,” said Kurt, and together they worked to get the bedspread out of the way. Finn was thinking ahead and pulled the rest of the blankets down at the same time so that Kurt could get all the way underneath the covers by the time they were done.

Finn had just pulled the last blanket up over Kurt’s torso when Kurt grimaced.

“Finn, I don’t feel so good. I think I’m gonna – “

Kurt leaned over and vomited off the side of his bed onto the floor. Finn had been looking right at Kurt when he did it, and he had to clamp his mouth shut and fight the gag reflex to keep himself from doing the same thing.

“Kurt, why didn’t you use the… oh shit, I forgot the can in the bathroom. Crap. I suppose I better… um, clean this up.”

Kurt looked up pitifully at Finn. “Garbage can?” he reminded him.

“Oh, right!” he dashed back into the bathroom and set the can down next to Kurt’s bedside. He looked at the puddle on the floor and found himself thankful that the entire house was done in hardwood flooring – it would be easy to clean up.

Finn again went back into the bathroom, this time retrieving a roll of paper towels and a bottle of an organic all purpose cleaner that he had seen his mom using for spills on the floor before. He took a deep breath to psych himself up to do the cleanup – Blaine would have his ass if he didn’t – and knelt on the floor next to it.

The smell hit him, and he found himself again having to fight against using the garbage can himself. He held his breath and quickly wiped up the mess, following it up with a quick swipe of a paper towel with some of the cleaner on it. It would have to be good enough for now. He ran the used paper towels out to the big trash bin in the garage and washed his hands for several minutes.

As he climbed the stairs, Finn heard the unmistakable sounds of Kurt heaving again. _God, I hope he hit the can this time,_ Finn thought to himself.

He trotted back up the stairs and grabbed the can from Kurt, who had flopped back against his fluffy pillows looking absolutely miserable. “I’m sorry,” Kurt apologized softly.

Finn sighed. “It’s okay man. You can’t help it.”

He dumped the garbage can and rinsed it quickly, setting it next to Kurt’s bed again and praying Blaine would return before Kurt needed to use it yet again.

After what seemed like hours but was only about forty-five minutes, Blaine finally returned.

“How’s he doing?”

“Still barfing,” Finn said.

Blaine took a close look at Finn. “I should’ve guessed. You’re looking a little green yourself. I’ll take over from here.”

“Oh thank god.”

“Can you please take this bottle of Gatorade and put it in the fridge and maybe bring up a glass of it with some ice and a straw?”

“Yes, yes, anything,” Finn said, very eager to get as far away from Kurt’s sickbed as possible.

**xXxXxXx**

Days later, Kurt walked up behind Finn as Finn was in the kitchen rummaging for a snack. He wrapped his arms around Finn and gave him a big hug.

“Thank you for helping to take care of me while I was sick,” he said. “I know it was hard for you.”

Finn smiled. “Anything for my bro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The allergy medicine thing comes from some google research - I was looking to see if phenergan, which was the only anti-nausea med I could think of, was available OTC, and I found out that it's actually an allergy med as well. Who'd've thought? I don't know if the kids allergy melts (the ones my son uses are Benadryl based) actually do help, but it worked for the story, so go with it?


	14. No

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know what made me write this particular little drabble, but don't hate me. Don't know squat about adoption laws in Ohio, so just go with it, m'kay?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Hummel – "

"That's Misters Hummel-Anderson," Kurt corrected.

"I'm sorry, sirs," the woman continued, "but I'm afraid the Ohio Department of Family Services will be unable to accept your application to adopt a child."

Kurt would never forget the exact moment he witnessed Blaine's heart breaking in two, because this was that moment. He went into the room smiling in anticipation, but now there was nothing other than heartbreak on his face.

"But why?" he whispered. "We have a nice home, we live near a good school, we can provide for a child… why are we not approved?"

"At this time, our agency only allows married couples to adopt."

"But we _are_ married," Kurt protested.

"You were married in New York, where same sex marriage is legal. Ohio doesn't recognize same sex marriages, period. I'm sorry, gentlemen."

" _No you're not,"_ Blaine mumbled under his breath. Kurt shook his head minutely in an admonishing gesture. It would not do to get on this lady's bad side.

"Please ma'am?" Kurt tried again. "There are so many beautiful children in Ohio that don't have a place to call home. We'd like to give one their very own place. I saw the profile of a little girl on the website that looks like she would fit into our lives perfectly and – "

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," the woman repeated yet again, "but I'll have to ask you to leave. There is nothing I can do for you here. It's against regulation." She rose from her desk and opened her office door, clearly stating without words that this meeting was over and they were no longer welcome in her office.

Blaine looked at her once more, his expressive brown eyes pooling with tears, pleading. She shook her head regretfully and shut the door behind them.

The woman hated doing this. It was the worst part of her job. Her no-nonsense exterior was all an act; it was the only way she could get through her days anymore. Ever since other states had started legalizing same sex marriages, she had had a rise in local gay and lesbian couples coming to her, begging for the chance to make one of her little charges their own. And she wanted to comply, so very much, but her hands were tied. She hated that the state of Ohio would rather deny these children the chance at a loving home than place them with same-sex couples. But what could she do?

She was clearly working in the wrong place.

She looked out the window and saw the two men she'd had to say no to getting into their car. The taller, finer featured one was standing with his husband outside the passenger door of the car. He was brushing away the shorter man's tears and hugging him tightly, kissing him on the head before pulling away from him and helping him inside the car. He then paused at the rear of the vehicle as he walked around and wiped his sleeve across his own eyes before sliding into the driver's seat and driving away. Her heart ached for them.

" _Good luck, boys,_ " she whispered.

At the end of the day, a resignation letter was the only thing left on her desk.


	15. Sunsets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurt and Blaine's engagement photo session.

Kurt and Blaine pulled up the address the photographer gave them and parked. They both got out of the car and walked a few steps toward their destination, but they didn’t get very far before they had to stop and just stare in wonder at the beautiful sight before them.

“Wow,” Kurt breathed.

“This place is absolutely incredible,” Blaine agreed.

They made their way toward the entrance. When they got there, they passed underneath an arch that bore the name Peace Garden. The name was incredibly apt; neither Kurt nor Blaine had ever felt that instantly at peace anywhere other than in each other’s arms.

“Kurt? Blaine?” a voice called from behind them. They turned around and were met by a small dark-haired woman with a grin on her face and a giant camera in her hands.

“That’s us,” Kurt confirmed.

“Hi, guys, I’m Wendy, and I’ll taking your pictures this afternoon.” She looked down at the camera in her hands and raised it slightly in acknowledgment. “As if that wasn’t obvious,” she said with a chuckle.

Blaine stuck out his hand to shake hers, and Kurt quickly followed suit. “Nice to meet you, Wendy. Thanks for bringing us here. I’ve never been here before, but it doesn’t take more than a quick glance to know why you suggested it – it’s gorgeous.”

“As are you boys,” Wendy complimented them. “I don’t know if my camera can handle so much amazing scenery at once.”

“Oh, stop, you!” Kurt admonished her, blushing lightly.

“Seriously, though, you guys will make my job easy. I won’t need to make you look good – you do that all on your own. So… we’re looking for engagement pics today?”

Kurt and Blaine both smiled lovingly at each other. Blaine grabbed Kurt’s hand and ran his thumb over the smooth metal band around Kurt’s finger. It was a brand new addition and Blaine couldn’t get over the feel of it on Kurt’s hand. It had felt as if something was missing before and now it wasn’t. Kurt felt the same way about Blaine’s ring; it had just arrived that morning and Kurt hadn’t stopped touching it since he knelt down and slid it onto Blaine’s ring finger. “Yes,” Kurt said proudly.

“Ooooh look at those hearts in your eyes! This is going to be fun!” Blaine was sure that if her hands hadn’t been full of expensive photography equipment, she would’ve jumped up and down and clapped her hands. As it was, she could barely keep the “squee” out of her voice. “Okay, so what we’ll do is, I’m gonna have you guys just wander around the grounds here. Do your own thing, forget I’m here, and just enjoy the scenery and each other. I’m gonna follow around behind you two, just clickin’ away at my camera, and we’ll get a bunch of random pictures. Then, near the end of your session, we can get some posed pics suitable for your announcements if I haven’t gotten anything that I think will work.”

Kurt nodded, and Blaine said, “Sounds good! I can’t wait to go looking around.”

Together, Kurt and Blaine slowly walked around the gardens. The gardens were originally intended as kind of an experimental grounds to see what kind of flowers and plants would flourish in the area, and boy did they flourish. The two walked hand in hand through the rows of colorful annuals and perennials. At times, Kurt would squat down to get a closer look at a plant. Blaine wasn’t interested in the plants at all – he only had eyes for his fiancé. When Kurt was ready to stand again, Blaine reached down, pulled him back up to a standing position, and kissed whatever part of Kurt’s face was convenient to kiss at the time.

When they were done looking at the flowers, they moved toward a winding path that took them around the area. Near the entrance was a giant fallen tree that kids found fun to climb. Blaine, too, couldn’t resist the temptation. He tried to drag Kurt up onto the tree with him, but Kurt stood at the base of it, protesting and shaking his head. Blaine crawled around on the tree carefully, but soon he slipped and nearly fell off it. Or he pretended to, anyway, but Kurt didn’t know that. He ran to where Blaine was to try to catch him only to find that Blaine didn’t need saving; all Blaine was aiming for was an excuse for Kurt to put his hands on him. Wendy wasn’t close enough to them to hear most of their conversation, but she DID hear Kurt call Blaine a jerk while Blaine laughed and scrambled away from Kurt and his indignation. Wendy could hardly contain her giggles – these two were quite the pair.

Kurt finally convinced Blaine that it was time to move on to safer, more _dignified_ activities. Which for Kurt meant sitting down on a beautiful stone bench. Blaine didn’t really want to slow down so soon after they got there, but Wendy called out, “That bench might make for some nice pictures.” Both boys jumped, startled. They had forgotten Wendy was even there.

“Oh, um, right,” Kurt said. “What should we do?”

“Pretend you guys are all alone on a porch swing. What would you do?”

“Well, we’d probably cuddle. Talk. Kiss, most likely.”

“Most likely, my ass,” Wendy said, laughing. “I’ve known you guys for what, fifteen minutes? And I already know that you guys would definitely be kissing. I’m even willing to call it making out with wandering hands.”

“Damn right!” Blaine cheered. Kurt had to physically restrain him from fist pumping.

“ _Idiot,_ ” Kurt mumbled. Kurt flopped down on the bench and pulled Blaine into his lap. “Oof, you’re heavy.”

“I ain’t heavy, I’m your Blainers,” Blaine said facetiously.

“Oh my _GOD,_ Blaine. Dork isn’t even the right word for you,” Kurt said, pushing Blaine away.

“Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

“God only knows why…”

“It’s because I’m adorable,” *kiss* “sweet,” *kiss* “I treat you like the prince you are,” *kiss*” _and I have a big dick,_ ” he whispered seductively in Kurt’s ear.

“Weeeeeeelllllll,” Kurt considered. “ _Maybe_ that last one.”

Both Kurt and Blaine laughed, and Blaine rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder for a few minutes with Kurt’s arm casually flung around Blaine’s torso. They had again very quickly forgotten that Wendy was around, which Wendy was actually grateful for. She found it far easier to get amazing photographs of people who didn’t think about her standing nearby with her camera; people tended to get too pose-y that way.

Blaine tilted his head back to look at Kurt, and Kurt glanced down at Blaine. Kurt was just about to kiss Blaine’s forehead when Blaine jumped from the bench, dragging Kurt with him.

“Hey wait! Blaine? Blaine, dammit, slow down!” Blaine was running so quickly that Kurt couldn’t quite get his feet underneath him and nearly faceplanted a couple of times before he finally got his stride and kept up with Blaine. Blaine booked it along a stone path and stopped dead on a bridge over a small stream that ended in a pond.

Wendy, herself, thankfully knew the layout of the peace gardens quite well, and she knew a shortcut. She tiptoed quietly through a grove of trees and came out on the other side of the bridge that Kurt and Blaine were on.

“Look, Kurt! Fish!” Blaine pointed down into the water. Kurt peered over the rail of the bridge and sure enough, there were tiny minnows swimming around in the water.

From Wendy’s perspective, the lighting and angles were perfect for her to catch several photos of the boys looking down into the water and their reflections staring back up at them. The look on Blaine’s face was of that of a small child’s – awe and wonder.  Kurt was more focused on Blaine than on their surroundings; the total adoration shone through.

Blaine ran down the other side of the bridge over to where the stream emptied into the reflection pond. Regardless of the fact that the pond just wasn’t very big, it didn’t stop Blaine from finding some smooth, flat rocks and attempting to skip them. Wendy was pretty sure she got a great shot of the stone just dropping into the water with a big splash and of Blaine in the distance pouting that it didn’t work. The next photo was pretty much the same except Kurt was nearby with a grin. The third, Kurt was outright laughing. The fourth consisted of Blaine tossing the rest of his handful in the pond at once and stalking away.

Blaine had moved about twenty feet away and was crouched at the edge of the water where the stream met the pond. Kurt got down to Blaine’s level and began talking to him.  Wendy wasn’t sure what was said, but she was pretty sure she could figure it out when Blaine’s hand, which had been swirling idly in the water, reached out and flicked water directly in Kurt’s face. Blaine leapt to his feet and ran; Kurt followed suit, yelling, “You BETTER run, Anderson! It’s ON!

Blaine trotted along until he reached a sturdy old tree. It was craggy and half dead, but it had untraditional beauty in its thick branches. He immediately set about climbing the tree, stopping about six feet up in the air and sitting in a V where the trunk split into two. Kurt screeched to a halt at the base of the tree, debating on whether or not he would follow Blaine up there.

“ _C’mon, do it, do it, do it,”_ Wendy chanted under her breath, always excited for another new photo op.

Blaine clearly didn’t think Kurt would climb the tree and continued to taunt him, but his face quickly morphed into an “oh shit” expression as soon as Kurt began to quickly and expertly ascend the tree.

“I don’t… but… but how?”

“Don’t just a book by its cover, Blaine. I spent a lot of time in trees as a kid as a way of escaping. Escaping the bullies, escaping my grief, escaping my life… believe me, I know how to climb a tree.”

“Am I in trouble?” Blaine asked hesitantly.

“SO much trouble. But not until we’re back on the ground. I want you to live long enough to survive being in trouble.”

“Let’s never leave this tree.”

“For now, we don’t have to,” Kurt said softly.

Carefully they navigated the crotch of the tree to get into a comfortable cuddling position without falling out. They managed to curl up together safely and sat there wrapped up in each other, eyes closed but smiling in contentment.

Wendy took several pictures, but they stayed still; after a few moments, there were no more pictures left to take. After letting them have a couple of minutes together, she went to the bottom of the tree and cleared her throat loudly. “Ahem!”

Kurt’s eyes blinked open and he looked down. He was horrified to discover that they had completely forgotten about her. _Again._

“Oh my GOD, I am so sorry – Blaine, let me go – we completely forgot! We just get so wrapped up in each other – Blaine, come on, get out of this tree! – we just kind of zone out when we’re together,” he babbled on as he quickly navigated the tree trunk and made it back down to terra firma _._

Wendy laughed softly. “Guys, really, it’s no big deal. Your complete ignorance of my presence really made it easy for me to get some amazing candids.”

“Since you got so many candids, should we be sitting for some more traditional portraits?” Kurt scanned the area for a place for them to take some posed photos, but Wendy stopped him.

“No, no, no. Believe me, I have more than enough photos for you two to choose from. If I’ve read you guys right, you think traditional poses are too stuffy anyway.”

Kurt had to agree. “This is true.”

“I’ve got plenty of photos where you two are close together and both of your faces will be clearly visible.  You’ll like them, I promise,” she assured them.

Kurt and Blaine followed Wendy back to her vehicle to square away payment and to make sure she had all the right information to be able to send them their photos when they were ready.

The boys thanked her profusely. “Thank you so much for making us aware of this place. It’s absolutely gorgeous here.”

“It’s one of my favorite places for outdoor photo sessions,” Wendy said. “Especially of kids. Maybe someday you’d like to have your own kids’ pictures taken here someday, huh?”

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” Kurt said. “But you’re not wrong.” Blaine nodded in agreement.

“I’ll have these back to you in about a week. My fee covers the session, a CD with the images, and the rights to print up whatever you want.”

They thanked each other again, and Kurt and Blaine wandered off, hand in hand. Wendy noticed that they were headed back into the garden rather than to their car. She watched them for a few moments, not quite ready to leave them behind; she had gotten a bit attached to them in the hour she was with them.

Kurt and Blaine again sat down on the stone bench. They were positioned so that Wendy was behind them and the sun was setting in front of them. Really, Wendy couldn’t have planned a more perfect picture.

It wasn’t hard for Wendy to grab her camera and sneak up close behind them undetected. She quietly snapped a few photos of them facing straight ahead watching the sun set. Blaine pulled the classic “yawn and put your arm up on the back of the seat next to you” move, and Wendy could practically hear Kurt’s eyes roll, but it didn’t stop him from scooting over so Blaine could properly rest his arm on Kurt’s shoulder, pulling him close.

Kurt and Blaine were mostly in silhouette, but Wendy could just make out the smile on Kurt’s face as Blaine turned to press his lips to Kurt’s and the love in Blaine’s eyes as Kurt sighed happily and pulled Blaine impossibly closer to him. Wendy managed to snap a dozen or so more quick shots before she felt like she was intruding and retreated to her car, Kurt and Blaine none the wiser.

Later that evening, Wendy downloaded her memory card to her computer and began the process of sorting through the photos, clicking the delete button on shaky or blurry images, cropping some, and turning others black and white or sepia as the mood struck her. When she reached the sunset pictures, she congratulated herself on having the gut reaction to stay just a little longer past their session time and spy on them, just a teeny bit. She figured she’d be forgiven once Kurt and Blaine saw these pics.

She dragged a single image into a separate folder in the file of photos she burned to disc that day. She included a text file with a note. It said, “Blow this one up to poster size and display it at your wedding. _Trust me._ ”

**xXxXxXx**

Six months later, guests arriving to celebrate the marriage of Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel were treated to the breathtaking image of the two men kissing against the fiery reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks of a magnificent sunset. Off to the side, a poem was written in Kurt’s elegant handwriting.

_Just beyond the sunset  
Someone waits for me  
Just beyond the sunset  
Lies my destiny  
Where the purple mountains  
Lie in deep tranquility  
There I’ll find the treasure  
Of love eternally_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poem is an excerpt from Love is a Sunset by David Harris. The Peace Garden was modeled after the Peace Gardens at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, MN. My son’s pictures were taken there once in much the same type of photo session as Kurt and Blaine’s (nothing posed, and do as you please and the photographer will take pictures as she sees fit), and to this day, they are still the most amazing pics of him we’ve ever had done. It is an amazing place for pictures!
> 
> THIS FIC NOW HAS A FAN ART! Drawn by the lovely and talented muchacha11 :)


	16. Happy Halloween!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this quite awhile back and forgot to add it.
> 
> You should recognize someone here if you’ve read my other work! Think of this as a little future take. Not much for plot here, just some Halloween related cuteness.
> 
> Spoilers for my story Pavarotti’s Legacy, in case you haven’t read that.

Kurt knelt down in front of the tiny child and carefully placed the sparkling tiara on the soft mound of blonde curls piled on top of her head. A few inconspicuously placed bobby pins later and he was completely satisfied with his work.

“Perfect!” he said, his face glowing at the sight of his beautiful little girl. “Blaine, honey, come and take a look!”

Blaine stepped out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishtowel after cleaning up their dinner dishes. He caught sight of their daughter and gasped softly. Kurt gave him a look, as if to say, “I know, right?” Blaine decided to play along.

He bowed deeply before the girl. “Why, your majesty, you’re looking stunning tonight. I wonder if you’ve seen my daughter Meredith? I’m sure I saw her standing right here just a few minutes ago!”

Meredith giggled. “It’s me, Daddy B! I’m Pwincess Mewedith!”

Blaine smiled back at her. “I know, baby. You look amazing. Daddy K sure knows how to make a princess really LOOK like a princess, doesn’t he?”

Meredith nodded her head so hard that the crown on her head began to slip. Kurt jumped behind her and held onto it before it could fall off completely. “I see it could use a couple more pins. Try not to get too wild and crazy tonight, Meri, or it’s not going to stay on. Okay?”

“Okay Daddy K. When are we going twick or tweating, Daddies?” She began to bounce as she asked, but a quick look from Kurt reminded her to calm down immediately. “Sowwy,” she said.

“Just as soon as I’m done fixing your hair,” Kurt replied. “Then we’ll head over to Uncle Finn’s apartment building, and you can knock on all the doors there.” Kurt and Blaine had decided that for Meredith’s first Halloween as an active participant in Trick or Treating, they would take her to Finn’s building where she could visit a lot of homes without too much walking and without having to cover her costume with a bulky coat; the weather outside was quite chilly this year and they would’ve needed to bundle her up.

Kurt slid the last bobby pin back into her hair and was just about to set her free when he thought of a spray bottle of body shimmer dust hidden in the back of the cabinet in the bathroom. He had no idea why he still had it – it was something that he had purchased to go with a Halloween costume back in high school – but it had survived several moves. It would be a shame to let it go to waste after all this time.

“Wait here, Meri. I’ve got the perfect finishing touch for your costume.” He dashed up the stairs and retrieved the bottle, spraying a bit into the air to be sure it still worked after so many years.

He returned to Meredith and knelt beside her. “Hold out your arms, sweetie,” he directed her, and he sprayed the dust all over her outstretched arms. He sprayed a bit into his palm and rubbed it on her chubby little cheeks, too.

“Now, look in the mirror.”

She pranced to the full length mirror in the hall and shrieked. “I’m so sparkwy Daddy!” She spun on her toes, twirling ‘round and ‘round to make her full skirts poof out.

“Careful, little darlin’,” Blaine said, rejoining his husband and daughter, his coat and scarf already on and ready to go to Finn’s place. He gently grabbed Meredith’s shoulders, stilling her. “You don’t want to get so dizzy you throw up, or you won’t be able to go Trick or Treating.”

Meredith’s face immediately slipped into a pout. “Okay. But my dress is so pwetty, Daddy B! I just wanted to see it all at once.”

“That it is. Daddy K is amazing.” He stopped to share a loving glance with Kurt, who still melted every time Blaine smiled at him.

After a moment of being lost in Blaine’s eyes, Kurt snapped out of it. “C’mon. Coat, shoes, gloves, everything!”

“But Daddy K – the sparkwy dust will wub off if I put my coat on!”

“I’ll bring the bottle with us. Now, go!”

Meredith scampered off to put on her coat and glittery princess shoes on. Kurt reached toward the closet to get his own jacket and found Blaine standing before him, holding Kurt’s jacket open, ready to put it on him. Blaine put it on Kurt carefully and spun him around to face him so he could do up the buttons for him. Kurt put his own scarf on, but the moment he had it artfully draped around his neck, he had Blaine pressed up against him in a tight hug.

“God, I love you so much, Blaine.”

“Whenever I think I can’t possibly love you more, Kurt, I see you like this with our little girl, and somehow, my heart expands just that little bit more to fit.”

Momentarily forgetting that just steps away in the next room was a three year old nearly finished getting her outside clothes on, Kurt closed the distance between them and gave Blaine a toe-curling passionate kiss. Blaine was surprised for no more than an instant before he began to reciprocate, but they didn’t get very far before Meri clicked into the room in her tappy princess shoes and groaned.

“Eeew Daddies! No more kissy faces!”

The two men pulled apart reluctantly, chuckling to themselves and sharing glances that promised to each other that yes, they WOULD in fact be finishing what they started later after a certain short person’s bedtime.

They buckled their little princess into her car seat and they drove the two short miles to Finn’s apartment building. After the final breakup with Rachel (and they had agreed that yes, it was for good this time), Finn moved into a small one-bedroom apartment up on the eighth floor. Finn had claimed uncle’s rights and insisted that he be Meredith’s very first stop. He made sure to have plenty of Meri’s favorite candy, M&Ms, on hand just for her.

Thanking the heavens that Finn’s building had a functioning elevator, they rode up eight stories and walked down the hall to 8E. Well, Kurt and Blaine walked – Meri flew.

“Hold it right there, sweet thing,” Blaine admonished. “Now, do you remember what we talked about?”

“Yes Daddy B. Always wait for a daddy before knocking, always say twick or tweat, and always say tank you.”

“Good girl. Go ahead and knock.”

Proudly holding her flower shaped candy pail in her left hand, she knocked on the door with her right. Finn barely had the door open before the little girl yelled, “TWICK OR TWEAT UNCA FINN!!”

“Boy, Kurt, I know she’s not yours biologically, but she sure does holler a lot like you do when you get pissed – “

“FINN! Language!”

“Sorry. Ticked off.”

“Scary, isn’t it?” Blaine agreed, taking a step just out of arms’ reach away from Kurt.

Kurt glared at Blaine, but it was playful – he wasn’t angry. “Watch it, Mister.”

“Unca Finn! Aren’t you supposta give me candy? Pwease?” Meredith begged.

“Oh yeah! Right! C’mon in, squirt, I got lots for you!”

Ten minutes later, after arguing with Finn with the sheer amount of candy he dumped in Meredith’s candy bucket and getting absolutely nowhere, Kurt flung his hands up in the air and dragged his daughter out the door to begin her quest for treats from Finn’s neighbors, promising to stop by again when they were done, presumably for Finn to get a look at the goodies Meri had collected and try to wheedle some of them away from her. No matter his age, Finn was still just a big kid. Really big.

Finn’s fellow tenants created a pumpkin sign to post on the doors of those who agreed to give out candy that year. A quick glance down the hall told them that 8F and 8C weren’t participating, but 8D, 8B, and 8A were, along with Finn. And so their night began.

They worked their way down the halls and floors, Meredith’s enthusiasm gradually waning, until about apartment 3B or so, she was being carried by one daddy and the candy pail by the other. They decided to call it quits, but Kurt insisted that, before they did, they had just one more stop to make.

Kurt led them to apartment 1A and set the little girl down, instructing her to knock on the door.

Blaine looked skeptical. “Kurt, this one specifically says No Trick or Treaters on the door. We shouldn’t disturb them.”

“No no, trust me, Blaine, this one is okay. Go ahead, baby,” he said to his daughter.

She approached the door carefully, as if she was afraid something might jump out and bite her, and tentatively knocked on the door. Before it had completely swung open she said, “Twick or – UNCA PUCK!” she screamed.

The little girl jumped at the no-longer-mohawked man standing in the doorway.

“Holy SH – um, COW! Puck! I haven’t seen you in ages!” Blaine said in surprise.

Kurt grinned, watching his husband and daughter reuniting with their old friend. Puck had been somewhat of a nomad the past few years. He stopped in just often enough for Meri to get extremely attached to him and then he got the wandering bug again.

“What are you _doing_ here?” Blaine asked. “I mean, not that it’s not incredible to see you, but usually you show up on our doorstep rather than the other way around.”

“I’m the new super here. I gotta fix stuff, but in return, my rent’s free, and I get enough of a paycheck in addition to make sure I eat. It’s a sweet deal. And now I’ll get to see the little rugrat whenever I want!” he said as he swung said rugrat, now on her second wind of the evening, through the air, making her laugh and squeal merrily.

“How long did you know he was here?” Blaine asked Kurt accusatorily.

“Just long enough for Puck to hear that we were bringing Meri here and for him to threaten to toss me in the dumpster for old times’ sake if we didn’t stop by with her. My clothes are even more fabulous now than they used to be, so I wasn’t going to risk it.”

They spent a few more minutes catching up with the Readers’ Digest Condensed Version of their lives since they last saw one another, and when they saw the little girl crashed on the floor fast asleep, the two fathers made their exits quickly, asking Puck to relay their goodbyes to Finn rather than stopping by on their way out.

After getting their daughter home and scrubbing the shimmer dust and dried chocolate from her hands and face, they tucked her into bed.

Kurt and Blaine stepped out of the room, softly clicking the door shut behind them, and Kurt turned to Blaine.

“Trick or treat, Blaine,” Kurt said, pitching his voice low in that way that he knew drove Blaine crazy.

Grabbing Kurt’s hand and dragging him towards their own room, Blaine said, “Treats, Kurt. Always treats!”


	17. Shooting Star - Kurt's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just my little take on Shooting Star from Kurt's POV. It's the first time I've tried writing present tense, so please forgive any slips.
> 
> TW: school shooting, so sensitive readers beware.

Kurt walks into the apartment, limping and weary from a long day of classes and an especially brutal dance rehearsal. He heads to their living area, tossing his messenger bag to the side somewhere along the way, only to find Santana in front of the TV with her eyes glued to the screen and tears streaming down her face.

Kurt’s heart immediately begins pounding. “Santana,” he says hesitantly. “What’s wrong?”

Santana can’t seem to conjure up the words, so she just waves at the TV. On the screen is CNN. The news ticker running across the bottom of the screen moves more quickly than Kurt’s tired eyes can read, but he catches snippets here and there: “two shots were heard,” “no reports of casualties,” “parents asked to remain at home.” The screen switched from the news anchor’s face to an aerial view of a building that looked a lot like…

McKinley.

His face pales, and he drops straight down – thankfully there was a chair behind him – landing with a soft thud. He squeezes his eyelids tightly shut, refusing to believe what he’s seen, thinking his eyes are playing tricks on them. He opens his eyes just as the front facade of the building appears on the screen, emblazoned with the words WILLIAM MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL.

“ _No,_ ” he whispers, his tone of voice almost begging.

“What – “ he stops, clears his throat, and asks again, scratchily, “What time did this all begin?”

As soon as he asks, the news reporter that’s speaking says, “Shots rang out at approximately 3:05pm when the majority of the student body was outside the school boarding school buses and loading into cars to head home for the day.”

That day was a Thursday. A day when Glee club normally meets at 3:15pm. Meaning…

“Blaine,” he cries out hoarsely.

Santana nods miserably. “And Brittany.”

“And Artie. And Tina. And Sam. And Unique. And Mr. Schue. And all the others… oh god.” Kurt hangs his head in his hands, but he suddenly whips his head up. “I’ve got to call Blaine.”

Kurt stands up and pulls his phone out of his pocket, violently stabbing the speed dial button for Blaine. He began mumbling “pick up, pick UP!” before the call even had a chance to ring, let alone connect.

“ _Believe it or not, Blaine isn’t at home, please leave a message at the beep. I must be out or I’d pick up the phone. Where could I be? Believe it or not, I’m not home… *_ beep*”

Kurt shakes his head. Not long after they had become a couple, Kurt and Blaine had watched an episode of Seinfeld together, and it was the one where George Costanza sang his answering machine message to the tune of _Greatest American Hero._ Blaine laughed until he cried and then, as soon as he was calm enough to do so, he sang his own voicemail message, changing only the name. He’d kept it ever since. Kurt thought it was silly, but he chalked it up to another one of Blaine’s adorable quirks and waited patiently through it every time he needed to leave Blaine a message.

Today, however, the message strikes Kurt as more irksome than ever. He has no time for silliness and fun in the wake of such a horrible event occurring right on his own home turf.

He hangs up without leaving a message and immediately redials.

“ _Believe it or not, Blaine isn’t at home”_  *click*

Again.

“ _Believe it or not” *_ click*

“FUCK!” Kurt screams out in frustration. He throws his phone as forcefully as possible - thankfully, for his phone’s sake, it lands on a decorative throw pillow. Santana looks up at him, startled, as Kurt usually never swears or throw things (he declares himself “classier than that”), but says nothing as she pats the couch cushion next to her. He flops down next to her and she wraps her arm around him, pulling him close. He buries his face in her shoulder, and she rests her cheek on the top of his head.

They sit there, her watching the screen, hungrily waiting for any detail telling them that everything would be okay, and him crying softly, tuning out the world.

Suddenly, a sound eerily similar to the shots their McKinley family would’ve heard that day blasts through their apartment. Kurt and Santana nearly fall off the sofa, startled far more than they would have been any other day.

“Good afternoon, roomies!” an obnoxious sing-songy voice trills through the space. The “shot” they heard was their roommate’s dramatic entrance, slamming the door into the wall behind it with a loud smack.

“Dammit, girl hobbit, don’t DO that shit to us!” Santana snaps, silently fussing over Kurt, making sure he’s all right. His hands flail in an attempt to wave her off; he’s “okay”, and the last thing he wants is anyone doting on him.

“Why so glum, chums? Was the salon sold out of your hairspray again, Kurt?”

Rachel earns herself the bitchiest of bitch glares from the occupants of the couch, but finally, her attention shifts to the television, and the smug look dissolves from her face as she figures out what is upsetting Kurt and Santana so.

“Oh, how awful!” she exclaims. “Thank God Finn wouldn’t have been there!”

“You insensitive cow,” Santana growls as Kurt chokes on a sob next to her. Yeah yeah yeah, it’s all well and good that Manboobs is safe and sound, la de frickin da, but put aside your selfishness for one damn minute and think about who IS still there. It’s _GLEE CLUB_ day, Berry.”

Rachel looks contrite as realization dawns on her face. “Oh Kurt, Santana, I’m so sorry…” She attempts to join the two person huddle on the couch, but she changes her mind; judging by their earlier reactions, there could be a mile of open space on that sofa and there still wouldn’t be room for her. She carefully perches on the chair nearest the TV and settles in to await further news of their friends.

Kurt silently extracts himself from Santana’s iron grip and grabs his phone from the floor. He presses redial and again gets Blaine’s cheesy voicemail message. On his third successive attempt, he creeps into his bedroom area. He begins speaking, keeping his voice low, but due to the lack of solid walls in their home, the girls hear him anyway.

“Blaine… I saw what’s going on at McKinley, and now you’re not answering… and I’m so scared for you. I – I’m doing something I never do… I’m PRAYING that you’re not taken away from me today. I’m praying that you and whoever is with you right now are unharmed. I’m praying that… that you and I get a chance to make _us_ okay again. I need you in my life, Blaine. It may not always seem like it, but… Blaine, you are _everything_ to me. I need to know you’re okay. Please call me when all this is over, okay? I love you.”

Kurt reluctantly clicks the disconnect button on his phone, feeling almost as if his connection to Blaine himself was severed at the same time. He takes a few deep, shuddery breaths, but they don’t help; his eyes again immediately flood with tears. With his vision nearly obscured, Kurt relies on his sense of touch to dial the most commonly dialed number on his phone aside from Blaine’s.

It rings just once before the other end of the line is picked up.

“Kurt,” Burt answers with obvious relief, even though there’s no way his son would’ve been inside that high school that day.

“Dad?” Kurt asks, his voice shaky at best.

Further words are unnecessary; Burt understands all the questions packed into that single word. Kurt had reached his father already near the scene of the incident in his role as the local congressman, but Burt immediately slips into Dad-mode – his son needs him.

“Kurt, buddy, this place is swarming with cops and SWAT team members. They’re not finding a single trace of a gunman, and they’re slowly ushering kids out of the school safely while others continue searching.”

“Ha – have they reached the c – choir room yet?” Kurt stutters softly.

“Not yet.” Burt hears a muffled sob through the receiver. “But Kurt? They’re almost there. They’re clearing the east end rooms first, and the choir room is on the west end. The last batch of kids came out of the astronomy classroom, I was told.”

Kurt’s breath hitches. “That’s two doors down from the choir room.”

“See, bud? I told you they’re almost there,” he says encouragingly. “Listen, I know you’re scared to death for him. I think my heart dropped into my shoes when I heard. You are and always have been my son and my first priority, but Blaine’s always felt like mine, too, and if anything ever happened to him…” Burt stops and clears his throat harshly. “But it’s not. Nothing’s going to happen to him or any of the other kids. They’ll be fine.”

Kurt can almost believe his father. “Thanks, Dad.” He doesn’t explain his thanks – he doesn’t need to.

“You’re welcome. I gotta go, though – some news reporter wants some sort of statement outta me and I have no idea what the heck I’m supposed to say.”

Kurt giggles slightly. “Just make something up, Dad. Whatever they ask is bound to be a stupid question anyway. And stupid questions – “

“Deserve stupid answers. Yep, got it.”

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, Kurt. I will call you later when this whole thing is over and everyone goes home safe, okay?”

“Okay. Bye,” Kurt says, hanging up the phone and feeling only marginally better. He stalks back over to the sofa where Santana sits, still glaring at the scene on the TV in front of her, face puffy and red with the tear tracks she’s failed to disguise. He flops himself down and adopts the same post.

After approximately ten more minutes of silently watching the coverage, the newscasters become more animated. Four hours and thirty-two minutes into the ordeal, the school is announced clear. The only injuries being reported are insignificant; cuts and bruises suffered in the scuffle to get to safety seem to be the norm.

Santana’s expression is confused. “But where are – “

“Look!” Kurt interrupts her, pointing at the TV. A motley looking crew of approximately twelve or so teens is escorted out of the building by several men in black SWAT uniforms. It’s difficult to make out faces and features, but Kurt picks out a boy with hair shaved close with his arms wrapped around a long-haired brunette. Two boys with floppy hair; one with light blond hair, the other with light brown. A heavier-set African-American male. A boy in a wheelchair. First one blonde cheerleader. Then two.

“¡Gracias a Dios!” Santana says with a great sigh of relief, burying her face in her hands as tears again begin streaming down her cheeks.

“ _Come on come on come on come on come ON,_ ” Kurt mutters under his breath. He’s sure that this is his group of friends, but he can’t rest until his eyes land on the one person he’s looking for.

The group of teenagers on the screen appears complete, but Kurt scans the group frantically once, twice, three times. He’d know Blaine anywhere, blurry screen be damned, and he is just NOT seeing him.

Finally, a police officer exits the building, his arm wrapped around the shoulders of a boy a good six inches shorter than him. The boy trudges along slowly, clearly exhausted, but he’s moving under his own power, and that’s enough to make Kurt sink down to his knees in front of the sofa. He’s sobbing, but it’s the good kind of sobbing. The relief courses through his body.

“Damn, Hummel, that boy’s got so much gel in his hair, the sun shining off his head could signal a rescue plane,” Santana says snarkily.

“Fuck you, Satan,” Kurt retorts, but there is no malice behind either of their words. Their loved ones are safe, and nothing else in the world matters at this moment.


	18. Kurt confronts Blaine about the ring (season 4 reaction)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could've happened after we saw Blaine with the ring box in his hand.

The choir room was filled with excited whoops and cheers. Some were in the thick of the action; Blaine could see Jake right up front shaking a bottle of sparkling cider, just waiting to spray it on the happy couple.

Blaine was behind the group with Kurt, but not really _with_ Kurt that moment. He had checked out of his surroundings awhile ago, being there in body only. His head was off in the clouds.

Which was why he was badly startled when Kurt suddenly gasped beside him.

“Blaine Anderson,” he said softly, seriously. “Is that a _ring_ box in your hand?”

In a brief moment of panic, he shoved the box inside his pocket and did something he never did.

Lied.

“Oh! Um, no! It’s just a… rainbow pin! Yeah! Like the one I gave your dad! I bought you one, too! And I was, uh, just waiting to give it to you!”

There was a very good reason why Blaine never lied: he was absolutely terrible at it.

Kurt narrowed his eyes at the nervous boy next to him. He held his hand out. “Can I have it, then?”

Caught, Blaine did the only thing that felt natural to him – he dug himself in even further.

“Um, no? I just noticed there was a ding in the enamel and I know you don’t settle for anything less than perfection and I – “

“Stop, Blaine. Just stop. Why are you lying to me?”

Blaine opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out; he knew whatever bullshit he would spout would fall flat, and it would just make things worse than they already were. He closed his mouth again and suddenly became very interested in a tiny spot on the top of his shoe.

Kurt grabbed Blaine’s hand and said, “Come with me. We need to talk. NOW.”

Santana looked away from the celebration in front of her and noticed Kurt dragging Blaine toward the door.

“ _Wanky_ ,” she said. “Go get it, Hummel!”

“Fuck off, Satan,” he said as the door to the choir room slammed behind them.

Blaine allowed Kurt to lead him several doors down to the astronomy classroom. As they walked inside, Blaine tried to lighten the mood.

“It was so funny, the first day of astronomy, Sam came running in saying, ‘I want to sit under Uranus…’” His voice trailed off, noticing Kurt wasn’t amused at all. He sighed heavily and plopped himself onto a stool at the nearest lab table.

“Okay, so it’s not a rainbow pin.” Blaine paused to allow Kurt to speak, but Kurt gestured for him to go on. “All right, fine. Yes, it’s a ring. Yes, I was going to propose. But I decided not to at the last minute. It was Miss Pillsbury and Mr. Schue’s moment and I didn’t want to overshadow them. And then I thought of you – I figured you probably would prefer something more romantic and wouldn’t want to share the moment. So I didn’t. But in my infinite need to have something in my hands to putz with, I ruined the surprise.”

Blaine started to open the box to show Kurt, but Kurt jumped off the table he had been sitting on and clamped his hand over Blaine’s, forcing him to close the box so Kurt couldn’t see.

 “I don’t want to see it, Blaine.”

Blaine felt his heart sink into his shoes. He hung his head to hide the tears threatening to fall.

“Blaine, why now?”

“I just thought… we’re finally in a good place in our relationship, and – “

“What relationship? I wasn’t aware that we were even in a relationship.”

Blaine looked up at Kurt, his expression utterly heartbroken.

“But you’re my boyfriend…”

“Am I? I don’t recall being asked to be your boyfriend again. Hell, I don’t even recall being asked out on a date.”

Just when Blaine thought he couldn’t feel any worse, Kurt’s words sent him down to a new level.

“Shit. I made it all up in my head, didn’t I?” Blaine tried not to cry, but a few defiant tears broke free and streaked down his cheeks. He hid his face in his hands so Kurt couldn’t see.

Kurt walked around to Blaine’s side of the lab table and placed his hands on the tops of Blaine’s thighs as he spoke.

“Blaine, you are my best friend in the world. And I love you. You have always been there for me, even when you’ve screwed up big time, and even then you’ve been remorseful and willing to do whatever it takes to make things right again. But Blaine, you’re going about this all wrong. You HURT me –“

“ And I’m _so sorry_ for that – “

“I KNOW you are Blaine. And I’m finally getting around to the point where I can honestly say you are forgiven. We were both wrong. I know you’ve forgiven me for unintentionally making you feel abandoned in the first place – “ Blaine nods his head – “and now I can say, I forgive you, Blaine.”

Blaine’s head whipped up so fast Kurt could almost hear his neck crack. He looked at Kurt with so much hope in his eyes that Kurt was glad he could say the words he knew Blaine wanted to hear; he would have felt horrible if he had had to crush Blaine’s spirits.

“You what?”

“I _forgive_ you, Blaine,” he said meaningfully.

“You do?”

“Yes.”

Blaine launched himself off the stool and into Kurt’s arms. They stood for a moment, Kurt’s strong arms wrapped around Blaine, Blaine sobbing in relief into Kurt’s shoulder. After a few moments, Blaine’s crying jag subsided and Kurt gently pushed him away.

“All right, sweetie. This may be an older piece, but it still has a maximum tear capacity. Grab a few tissues from the teacher’s desk so we can give this poor jacket a break, okay?”

Blaine couldn’t stop a giggle from escaping; Kurt’s reaction was _so_ him.

“We can’t just go back to where we left off before I left for New York. We went backwards pretty far in our relationship with our breakup. We can’t just skip over those parts this time - we need to retrace our steps, find where we went wrong and fix those parts as we pass them by again.”

Blaine nodded in agreement. In his heart, he knew Kurt was right, even though he himself felt ready to be back where they were when he serenaded Kurt in the courtyard with cups and jump ropes.

“I’m not ready to be your fiancé, Blaine,“ Kurt went on.

Blaine felt a brief stab of disappointment in his chest, but he pushed it down immediately and squared his shoulders, ready to begin pouring out his heart again. Before he could start speaking, Kurt continued.

“But I AM ready to be your boyfriend again.”

Blaine beamed. It was the best news he had heard all year.

“Now, I believe you had something to ask me?” Kurt prompted.

Blaine was slightly confused. His joy took over everything in his head, and for a few awkward moments, he completely forgot what he was supposed to say.

“Oh, wait!” He bounced to his feet and grabbed Kurt’s hands. “Kurt Hummel, would you please go on a date with me and maybe be my boyfriend again?”

 Kurt rolled his eyes playfully at Blaine and grinned.

”Yes. To both,” he says surely.  “Absolutely.”

Blaine thought he couldn’t smile any harder, but he proved himself wrong.  “Well, it wasn’t the yes I was figuring I’d get when the day began,” he said, “but it must be the right yes, because it feels absolutely amazing.”


	19. Original Song - Blaine's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cleaning out my fic folder and found this that I wrote way back when - just a little bit about what might've been going through Blaine's head during Original Song. I don't usually write in first person, but I feel like it was appropriate here.

_Where is he? He KNOWS Wes turns into an asshole when anyone is late for Warblers practice? Maybe I should text him…_

The double doors slowly swung open and Kurt appeared, not in his school uniform. He was dressed entirely in black, and he was in tears.

“Kurt, what’s wrong?” I asked worriedly. _Oh please let everything be all right. I know his dad has health issues and Kurt’s had a major scare with him before._

“It’s Pavarotti. He’s dead. I suspect a stroke,” Kurt said with a wavering voice.

_Oh, thank God. I don’t know if I could bear it if anything happened to Kurt. Wait…what? I mean, Kurt’s my best friend, but it almost sounds like… oh wow._

Kurt said a few words then, but for some reason, I wasn’t hearing them. I seemed to be lost in my own mind. He handed a tape to one of my fellow Warblers who placed it in the boom box. A familiar tune began to play. _Ooh, Blackbird, one of my favorites. But why is he playing this now?_ Then Kurt began to sing. I gasped. _He’s singing it for Pavarotti. That must be about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard._

 _My poor sweet prince, he looks so heartbroken._ Kurt began the next verse, and I joined in with my Warbler brothers on the background vocals. _Heartbroken or not, he’s beautiful when he sings. I just wish I could kiss all those tears away…_

_Kiss? Holy shit, where did that come from? Cut the crap, Anderson, you know where that came from and you know it. You’ve been in denial since how long? Since about two seconds after he told you he was new here?_

I stopped singing. I could no longer concentrate on the lyrics. I get the words wrong to my own songs on a good day, no sense ruining a touching tribute to a beloved companion with me squawking the wrong words. The only thing I could do was stare. _Oh Kurt, you’re amazing, I love you…_

_I what? Oh my God, I do, don’t I? I, Blaine Anderson, am in love with Kurt Hummel. And if I think real carefully, I think he’s been in love with me, too._

I fought the urge to smack myself upside the head with this revelation. I snapped out of the trance I didn’t even know I was in when Kurt sniffled and said, “Thank you,” to us for joining him in song. His voice cracked, which told me that he was trying very hard to keep it together, and he was failing. As soon as the word you left his mouth, Kurt spun around on one foot and fled the practice room.

“Hey Anderson, are you okay?” asked Jeff. “You kinda checked out awhile back, I noticed.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered. “I was just lost in thought.”

“You sure were,” Wes joined in. “If you would have zoned out like that during rehearsal or council time, I would have used my gavel on you.”

“I bet I know what you were thinking of, too,” added Nick.

“We all do,” said Trent. “And it’s about time that you finally realized it as well.”

I was a little stunned. “Is it that obvious? Am I that transparent?”

“You both are. But you’re the oblivious one. I know Kurt well enough that, even though he’s never said a word to any of us, he was just biding his time, waiting for you. He didn’t want to say anything for fear he’d be rejected. He’s been rejected by you before,” said Nick softly.

“I would never! When did I reject him?” I exclaimed. _Seriously, why in the world would I reject someone like him?_

“Um, the whole Jeremiah debacle?” offered Wes cautiously.

“Oh shit,” I whispered. “I think I repressed that. I really screwed up, didn’t I?”

Trent nodded. “Yeah, you did. But you have a chance to fix that. He hasn’t given up on you. I think you know what you need to do.”

“Yeah, I think I do.” I got up, smoothed my tie, took a deep breath, and headed to the dorms to find Kurt. I rehearsed what I was going to say on my way.

_Kurt, there is a moment when you say to yourself, Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you forever…_

 


End file.
